


Just Our Fallen Hell

by insaneshadowfangirl, LucyRed



Series: Just Our Fallen Hell [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Collars, Dehumanization, FIC WITH FUTURE, Platonic Affection, SOUL slavery, Sans torture, Shock Collars, Starvation, Stockholm Syndrome, Underfell Chara, Underfell Sans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-11-09
Packaged: 2018-08-19 11:18:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 42,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8204042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insaneshadowfangirl/pseuds/insaneshadowfangirl, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucyRed/pseuds/LucyRed
Summary: He knew it had been a stupid idea to let himself grow to care about some human kid...he hadn't known that it could ever backfire on him like this, though.(Lucy decided to write JOH intro in Underfell verse for fun)





	1. Chapter 1

He grits his teeth as he sees the little shit walking towards him. He digs his fingers into his palm, breathing out harshly as they smile at him. He can see dust coating their hands and face. He can see the flash of light reflecting from that blade of theirs.

“how many _times_ , kid?” He snaps when they’re within range to hear his angry growling. “how many times are you gonna do this, huh?”

They giggle, shifting into stance as they prepare to fight him.

“no.”

They blink, tilting their head.

 _“no._ i’m not fighting you until you fucking answer my questions. i’m not gonna do this same stupid song and dance over and over anymore. i’m _sick of it_ . i’m sick of trying to trust you!” Sans snarls, clenching his fists and feeling his eye burning a bright red as he watches them, grabbing their SOUL with his magic and forcibly holding them back, “you’re gonna fucking talk to me and you’re going to _give me answers_ , you piece of shit! because i’m _tired of playing your stupid game_!”

They stare at him, looking surprised. And then they start laughing, bracing their hands on their knees. It’s all Sans can do to keep from blasting them right there and then, even though he knows how pointless that would be.

“Alright, Sans. Let’s chat.” They say cheerfully, crossing their arms politely behind their back and bouncing back and forth between their heels and toes. Their smile stretches too widely across their face, and he can see their irises gleaming a red even brighter than his.

Sans’s eyes widen. “y...you...you can talk…?”

“Obviously, Sansy, that’s what I’m doing right now.” They stick out their tongue, giggling at his frustrated expression, “Go on, ask me your questions!”

More lies...more lies just _more lies_ why is he even surprised. They lied about being his friend, why not lie about being able to speak?

“...f..fine. ha, yeah, let’s just chat like the _best pals_ we used to be, why not?” Sans gives a biting grin, curling up his fists in his jacket pockets, “ _why are you doing this_?”

“Because it’s _fun_ , duh.” They roll their eyes, boredly examining their nails, “Next?”

“how much longer are you going to keep this up?” Sans seethes, shoulders trembling with anger, “how many more times are you gonna keep brainwashing everybody?! how many more times are you gonna dust ‘em just for the fun of it?!”

“As many times as I want!” They snap back, seemingly a little peeved at his tone. “Why do you care? You’re still going to stand in the background like a coward every time I dust your brother!”

Sans gives an angry yell and launches a wall of sharp bones at them, which of course they easily dodge, laughing like the little psychopath they are and grinning at him again. He continues throwing attacks until he steps back to take a breath, huffing and digging his heels into the golden tiles.

“So much for talking, Sansy.” The child jeers.

“shut the _fuck up_ , Frisk!”

“ _My names’ not Frisk!”_

Sans jolts back at the sudden intensity of their screaming, feeling his SOUL shudder in dread as he looks at their expression, falling back a step. Nope. That is definitely not Frisk. That’s all the proof he’d ever need right there, in that deranged expression.

“..th...th-then who the fuck…”

Taking in a deep breath as if to compose themselves, the child tilts back their chin and smiles cordially, “Chara Dreemurr...greetings!” They giggle at the look of shock on his face, “It’s so nice to finally officially meet you.”

“Dreemurr... _what_ …?”

“Chara Dreemurr? The fallen human? Don’t tell me mother hasn’t once mentioned me to you, after all your talks.”

“i know who Chara Dreemurr is!” Sans snaps, “i’m not a fucking idiot...you’re the reason Asgore finally went off the fucking deep end...you’re the reason the Prince is dead, you selfish, manipulative piece of shit-”

Sans is barely able to dodge in time as Chara suddenly sweeps forward, throwing out their knife at his neck. He falls back, teleporting to the other side of the room before they can brace a foot on his chest and hold him in place. They glare furiously at him, swallowing and forcing out a tight laugh, looking close to snapping their own jaw in half.

“That’s a _very rude thing to say_ , Sansy! If we’re going to talk about being responsible for our brothers’ deaths, then you really aren’t any more entitled to the first stone than I am, are you?”

“what are you doing to Frisk? _where_ is Frisk?!”

“Frisk is _dead_ !” Chara grips their bloody, dusty knife tighter and tilts up their chin, flashing him a smile, “They _gave_ me their SOUL! Their body is all mine, now! You’re never going to see them again!”

Sans feels a threatening pressure in his throat that he overrides by summoning two Gaster Blaster wheels and spinning them at the child, screaming himself raw. This goddamn demon hasn’t just killed Papyrus, they’ve killed his best friend - his one hope for getting out of the Underground and seeing the stars again. Of seeing his brother live through another day.

Eventually, even his anger-fueled rage is exhausted and he drops to his hands and knees, glaring at the tile through his tears and huffing. Normally he passes out right about now, but he’s too awake. Too tired to fight but too furious to lose consciousness.

He shuts his eyes as he hears them approach him. He doesn’t care. So they’ll murder him again and start the cycle over for the millionth time. Fine.

He’ll get to see Papyrus again, at least.

“Oh Sansy~” Chara sighs, petting his skull and giggling as he roughly swats their hand away, glaring up at them from beneath his sweat-streaked brow, “You’ve always been my favorite. I wish our fights could last for forever…”

Sans shakes his head at the lunatic child, wheezing out a scoff and bracing himself for the final blow as he feels their blade against his neck, “g-go to hell…”

They laugh again, “Sansy, silly... _we’re both already there_!”

His left eye is forced open, and he screams as their blade plunges inside his socket and extinguishes his magic and his consciousness.


	2. Wake Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans wakes up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> many thanks and curses to insaneshadowfangirl for helping me give this story a life  
> As per the usual, Lucy is Sans

Chara grumbles to themself as they back up, inching their way out of the Judgement Hall, dragging the skeleton by the fluffy hood of his stupid jacket. How did something that was literally all bones weigh so damn much?

Their father had been taken care of, most of the remaining monsters are running scared, and for once they’re actually excited. Finally, something  _ new _ … They are determined to have as much fun with their new toy as possible. Still, the setup is annoying. It’s probably the most tedious part of the game. 

Through the halls, going deeper and deeper, Chara finds themself just a little bit nostalgic. To think they’d given all this up to humor their brother’s silly little plan. Asriel had really been too compassionate for his own good, as far as they’re concerned. 

It takes them a while, but eventually they find their way, by hazy memory alone, to the large, foreboding black doorway leading to the dungeons. They can already hear the cries of the imprisoned monsters still languishing there-- Free XP for them. It‘s amusing that Asgore had never bothered to kill them off, but refused to let anyone else have the chance to steal the power of their deaths.

They drag their prize down the stairs none too gently, carelessly allowing Sans’s head to hit each step in turn, keeping half an eye on his hp. While they’d saved outside of the dungeon, it would be a hassle to have to bring him all the way back down. Chara isn’t here to  _ work _ . The whole point of this exercise is to have  _ fun _ .

They find a nice large cell in the back, empty and barren but for several different styles of restraints and some dust caked on the floor. They select the easiest to maneuver the dead weight into, binding him so his wrists are behind him and connected to the wall by a short length of chain.

There’s a second one to hook a collar to, but they abruptly realize that they had actually forgotten to grab one on their way in, so they jog off to the very first door beside the stairs. They actually have to jump to reach the handle, but it is  _ so _ worth it when the heavy, polished door swings open to reveal their favorite room in the castle.

 

Sans groans as he comes to, swearing as he feels a sharp ache in his eye. He looks around, sockets turning black. He recognizes this place - he’s been down here before. Brief, brief visits, though - only when Papyrus was trying to scare him. And holy fuck it worked.

It’s working now, too, he realizes, as he glances down at what he can see of the floor. He feels his SOUL shudder as he sees that he’s sitting in dust. Quickly he scrambles to his feet, only to feel a sharp pull on his wrists when he tries to move for the open cell door. He falls back against the wall, swearing again and looking left and right, as if the key might just be lying nearby.

Barely, he can recall the events leading to his situation - fighting with Frisk-no, that  _ demon _ possessing them...Chara? Getting stabbed in the face…

Fuck...fuck fuck fuck fuck  _ fuck _ ...

 

Chara hears the swearing as they make their way down the hall, systematically killing every sickly, emaciated SOUL they come across. Looks like their toy woke up early. 

Shame. Now they’d have to deal with his bitching and moaning and squirming while they collared him. No doubt they’d have to nip that in the bud right away, or they’d have to deal with it continuously.

With an irritated sigh, they step into view of Sans’s cell and stab the last monster, residing in the one across from it, through the bars. Slowly, they turn, tilting their head and grinning in that slightly unstable way that had always freaked out their cry baby brother. “Hello, Sansy~. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long!” They chirp happily, eyes tracking his struggles and flickering eyelight. Well, at least his magic seemed to be on the fritz. That would make this easier.

Still, they hide the collar behind their back as they approach.

Sans stares as the monster slowly crumbles to dust, curling up his fists. He forces a grin onto his face as he tears his eyes away and back to Chara, “hey shitface. what’s the big idea, huh?”

Chara chuckles, continuing their advance and noting the way Sans shrinks backwards, even as he puts up a tough facade.

“Well, I could crack a joke about how neither of us are exactly ‘big’, but I feel it would be in poor taste, considering the circumstances.” They brush a lock of dust-coated hair out from in front of formerly-green eyes, Frisk’s body changing slowly as the soul possessing it wrenched it further and further away from its original owner.

“Though, I find it extremely fascinating-- The first few times I came through the Underground, I completely ignored you. You were weak. Insignificant. It was only recently I started paging through Frisk’s memories and learned just how  _ different _ you are. You keep a lot of secrets, don’t you, Sansy~?”

“don't know what the fuck you're talking about.” Sans promises, his grin staying wide and hateful as he glares at them.

The human’s grin stretches to match. “Teleportation. Knowledge of my ability to go back in time. Doctor Wingdings Gaster’s very existence. I wonder, did your ‘Boss’ know any of that?”

Sans’s glare deepens, “what does it fuckin’ matter? a lot of fuckin’ good any of that did me.”

“Oh I never said it did you any good, honey. I just said it was fascinating.” They can’t help another little laugh. They’re so  _ amused _ right now, everything is off-script and they’re  _ loving _ it.

“stop  _ fucking laughing _ , you creepy little  _ shit _ …!” Sans snaps, clenching his fists and feeling his shoulders start to shake in anger and a little bit of fear, “what do you want from me?!”

Oh, they want a lot from him. But baby steps. Breaking somebody’s will is a process, after all. “I’ll laugh if I like, Sansy. I do what I want~.” They intentionally ignore his other question, waving the hand not behind their back aloofly.

“answer my fucking question.” Sans spits, shifting his stance like he can actually fight them. 

Chara scowls, taking a split second to check his hp before striking him as hard as is safe. Sans’s head snaps to the side, and while Chara’s hand throbs, they grin. It’s a good ache, the kind that the rush of adrenaline they feel at hearing his grunt of pain easily takes care of. Nature’s morphine, indeed. “Do not speak to me in that manner.”

Sans clenches his teeth, “i’m real fucking sorry.” He says sarcastically, “answer my fucking question,  _ please _ .” He gives a snide, ‘polite’ smile. 

“I’d think even you aren’t so stupid as to misunderstand the situation here, Sansy~. But I suppose I could be wrong. Mom taught me to never underestimate the power of stupidity, after all.” They draw the collar out from behind their back. “If you really want to know-- It’s just you and me. You’re the only one in the entire Underground who I can impact permanently. And I want to see you broken into itty. Bitty. Pieces!”

Sans looks them up and down, narrowing his eyes, “...mhm. okay. sure.” He sits down against the wall, obligingly tilting his chin up and watching the ceiling idly. 

Chara rolls their eyes. He’s not taking them seriously quite yet, but that’s fine. They’re not stupid, they know better than to take the offered opportunity without a little insurance. Quick as a flash, their hand snaps out and smashes his skull against the bricks of the wall, holding him still and incapable of going after them with those shark teeth of his while they fasten on and lock the collar. Sans swears but holds still, gritting his teeth and glaring at them from the corner of his eye. 

The lock closes with a  _ click _ . “There~.” Chara coos, smirking as they release him. “That’s much better.” It’s easy for them to attach the second chain to the device, trapping their catch even more securely to the dungeon wall.

Sans shifts his jaw, wincing as he feels a weight settling around and compressing his SOUL. His magic retreats into his very core, making him shiver. So that established two things - they weren't entirely stupid, and obeying didn't get him anything either. Though they probably just saw right through his ‘obedience’. They can't keep their guard up forever though. 

Chara grins at him. “You look kinda cute in that, Sansy~.”

He rolls his eyes at them, “you look kinda young for me, brat.”

Chara snickers. “As if I would soil myself with trash like you anyway.”

“oh ow my fragile feelings.” Sans rolls his eyes, “my ego is a fucking dead horse, kid. don't waste your breath.”

“It’s never a waste of breath to tell the truth, but if you don’t want to talk anymore, I could leave~.”

“oh  _ no _ .  _ please _ no. god fuckin’ forbid i don't get to spend every fuckin’ second in your fucking awesome presence you piece of  _ shit.”  _ Sans ‘pleads’, rolling his eyes so hard it hurts. ‘ _ please _ ’ ‘don't’ leave.”

Chara can’t help the uproarious laughter that practically bursts out of their chest. “We’ll see if you change your tune after, say, a week. Down here. Bound. Alone. Nothing but  _ dust _ to keep you company.”

“that'd sound a lot worse if the alternative wasn't having to have  _ you _ around.” Sans says, “see, i  _ really  _ hate you, and being around you is really fucking awful.” He talks slowly in a higher pitched voice as if explaining a very simple concept to a very simple child, “understand?”

Chara grins, not at all perturbed. They know exactly how this works, even if Sans doesn’t. “Fine.” They shrug, and get to their feet, shaking cramps out of their legs. They’d already put the proper settings onto Sans’s collar, which should activate momentarily.

They spin on their heel and sweep imperiously from the cell, shutting the door behind them. They reach the stairs by the time the screaming starts.

 

Sans can remember once, a long time ago, when he went to unplug a lamp and accidentally stuck his phalanx in the socket. That had hurt - the shock had only lasted a second but it left the bone burning and smoking a little too, after. It had been sensitive for a while, aching every time it touched anything. 

This is nothing like that. Nah, it's way,  _ waaay  _ worse.

For one it's not just his pinkie. It's his entire fucking  _ body _ that's spasming and burning up. It doesn't really touch his HP, just makes him wish it would. Pain isn't something Sans is unused to, but  _ agony _ , that's… a little outside of what he's learned to tolerate. And he's suddenly taking a crash course that he didn't sign up for.

Eventually the shocking stops and Sans finds himself lying on the ground, gasping and groaning in pain. Breathing was something he hadn't been able to do while being electrocuted, but at least he only notices that now. He has an instinctive desire to rub at the more severe burns on his cervical vertebrae but his restrained arms keep him from being able to give himself that simple comfort. He has to hold his head up off the floor to keep from breathing in the dust coating it.

He sits himself back up and rests his skull back against the brick, panting and squeezing his eyes shut.

Well.

That had hurt.

 

Day 2

It took him two more bouts of shocking before he figured out that it was some sort of timing system, and not Chara, that was actively torturing him. He counted it - every fifteen minutes he was electrocuted. Just barely the sting would fade before a fresh wave of pain started, hurting his sensitive bones further.

At least he has a reliable method of keeping track of time. And there's no need to worry about losing track, because even he can't sleep through torture like this. He tries desperately, wanting to alleviate that constant sense of exhaustion, but he can't.

Still he tells himself he can get through this.

 

Day 4

He’s started talking to himself.

Just mumbling of various strings of curses directed to the sadistic child tormenting him at first, but then half-hearted ‘pep talks’ mostly consisting of him muttering “don't be a fucking baby, Sans.” at himself.

At one point he hears his stomach growl over the sound of his screaming, but there's nothing he can do to soothe that pain, either, and so it is simply added to the list of shit he has to deal with.

 

Day 6

“what i wouldn't fucking do for Grillby’s…” Sans groans, shifting his legs under himself so he's resting cross-legged on the ground. His stomach growls again and he winces, whimpering quietly at the stabbing pain that follows. “gh…” He hears a warning beep, “f-fuck, no-!”

He starts screaming again as the currents start up again, burning him and making him writhe on the ground in pain. He's sweating heavily by the time it stops. Still he hasn't been able to keep track of how long the shocks actually last. At least that's something to keep trying to focus on.

As the shakes die down, Sans slowly draws his knees in towards his chest trying to ignore the wetness he can sense in the corners of his sockets. He can't even stay conscious for more than a minute at a time.

He's aware that soon he’ll be too tired for his conscious existence to consist of anything more than pain.

 

Day 7

**_“MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP, MAKEITSTOP_ ** …!”

It takes his frayed mind an embarrassingly long amount of time to figure out that this screaming is coming from him.

 

Chara steps into the cell just after the collar is set to stop its most recent round of electrocution, and can’t help the pleased smile that crosses their face. They’d gotten a lot done of the week, making absolute certain that there were no monsters left to bug them and planning out some ‘fun’ activities for they and their captive.Those would have to wait until after Sans recovered from his week alone.

The skeleton looks a sight, curled into himself and sobbing incoherently, twitching and shaking despite the lack of electricity running through his fragile little body. They’d heard the screaming as well-- it had been music to their ears. 

The human steps slowly into the back of the cell, kneeling down beside the wreck of a monster. They carefully place a hand on the back of his skull, rubbing gently to see how he would react.

Sans jolts violently, spitting out a stammered swear and weakly kicking out at them as he turns his back to the wall, forcing open his exhausted eyes and staring at them apprehensively.

“Now, Sansy. Do you really want to be left alone again? With nothing but your collar and your empty belly?” Chara chides, moving the thermos they're carrying into his view. They crack it open and show him the contents: steaming warm soup.

His eyes widen further and he struggles to sit up, panting, “p..lease..” He rasps.

Chara smirks, pouring a little of the liquid into the cap. “Now that’s much better. See? It's easy to be polite.” They hold the cup to his teeth to help him drink it.

Sans swallows greedily, shutting his eyes tightly and coughing slightly. “mph..”

“Do you want more? Ask nicely~.”

Sans nods, “‘s...p-pl’s..”

“What was that, Sansy?” Chara asks, pulling the cup away.

It's all he can do to keep from whining, “gf...i..s’d... _ p..lea..se.. _ !” Sans coughs, struggling to keep his eyes open. 

“Ah.” Chara obligingly refills the cap and offers it back to him.

He swallows again, emptying the small cup immediately, “pl’s…”

The process repeats for a few minutes, until the soup is gone and the human sets the cup aside, glancing at their watch. Two minutes until the next shock. Maybe he’ll beg. They decide to watch and wait. 

He can hear ticking in his head as it gets closer. Sans starts prematurely shaking, shutting his eyes and breathing heavier. It's going to hurt. It's going to hurt so  _ bad _ why hasn't he gotten even slightly numb to the pain…?!

Without a word Sans curls up tighter, pressing his knees to his forehead as he waits. 

Chara’s a bit disappointed, but not all that surprised. Honestly, he’s probably too tired and mentally exhausted to even realize that they can make the collar stop, let alone think of asking. They scoot back a bit so as to not be in flail range if he spasms too much. The warning beep sounds, and he tenses just before an ear-piercing scream rips through the air. 

It's music to their ears.

Sans goes limp when the shock dies out, whimpering quietly and slowly uncurling, struggling to sit up and failing miserably.

Chara is deceptively gentle as they reach out and pet him once again. “Poor Sansy.” 

He doesn't lash out like last time. Just gives up on trying to move and lying as still as possible. He passes out almost immediately.

Of course, it doesn't last long. Another shock rips through him what feels like seconds later. 

Chara had sat patiently for the fifteen minutes it took for the collar to activate, and this time they rouse him before he can fall unconscious again. “Sansy~. Do you want to sleep?”

He nods, looking at them with exhausted eyes.

“Beg. Real words, no more funny sounds. And if I think you want it bad enough, I'll suspend the timer for four hours.” They coo, petting the top of his head like they would a kitten.

“g-gh..” Sans flinches at the gentle touch on his sore skull, shutting his eyes, “l...em..me s..sl..eep...pl..ea..se..”

Chara scoffs. “You're not trying very hard. Maybe I should come back tomorrow?” They wait for a response only to realize that he's passed out again. With a sigh, they stand up. They'll come back the next day with something that would help his metaphorical throat, that might make him a bit more entertaining.

  
  


“h-hhf..n-nh..n-no…” Sans squeezes his eyes shut and tenses as he counts down in his head. 

_ Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen.. _

A shudder wracks his chest as he sobs, weakly shaking his head. He tries talking, tries exercising his voice, but it cracks when he tries using words instead of screaming and then falls into silence. “w….an..na s...l..e..ep…” He coughs violently, chest aching as he does so, “‘om ‘ck...c..c-come... _ b-ba..ack… _ ” He wheezes, feeling his head growing heavy again, “m’k it s’tp…”

Chara steps into the cell once more, another thermos in hand, along with a small bottle. “Morning, Sansy! How was your night?” They're not surprised by the lack of response beyond him barely lifting his head. They're pretty sure his voice gave out an hour or so previously. That’s okay, the medicine they’d gotten in Waterfall would fix it right up.

They sit beside him again, opening the bottle and thermos and dumping the smaller container into the larger. A quick shake and the water inside the thermos is stained purple, and they offer him a capful just as they had with the soup the day before.

He's visibly disappointed that it isn't more soup but he drinks it anyway, swallowing and coughing but not pulling away. He wheezes as they eventually sit back with an empty thermos, breathing heavily and digging his fingers painfully into his palms to keep himself awake.

“l..l-let me sleep, Ch-Chara, p-please...please l-let me sleep i n-need to sleep i’m so tired p-please i wanna sleep i need to s-sleep,  _ please _ …”

He goes so far as to bow his head and hunch in on himself, and Chara hums in approval, wondering absently if his brother had ever made him beg like this or if he was just that desperate. “Three hours.” They say, reaching over to fiddle with the collar.

“y-you said  _ four… _ ”

“That was yesterday,” They shrug, pushing a combination of tiny buttons he couldn't hope to follow even if he could see and reach them. Their father had spent weeks drilling all of these patterns into their head. “This is today.”

Sans's shoulders slump as he leans his head against the wall. He's too tired to scream at them about unfairness. And anyway since when is anything that happens to him ‘fair’? They probably just want him to get angry, anyway, so they can punish him further for it.

“You're learning already, Sansy!” They cheer, throwing their hands up into the air. Their face grows serious. “The collar will shock you one more time, then you'll get your three hours.” Then they could start laying down some ground rules-- now that he knows the consequences of misbehaving.

Sans forces his eyes back open and watches the floor, keeping his glare turned away from them. He just has to be obedient enough to get some food and water. It's just a stupid survival game. That's all this world is to them anyway. Just a stupid fucking game, and they get to cheat all they fucking want.

If this were on fair ground...if they were fighting him and they couldn't keep coming back then he'd easily be the winner. He can at least take satisfaction in knowing that - that in the end they're just a stupid little brat that got way more power because of dumb luck. Let them ‘break’ him all they want. In the end he knows that they're just as weak and pathetic as him.

At least he never went on a fucking power trip though.

He hears the beep but this time he doesn't scream. He clenches his jaw shut and focuses on that heavy, burning  _ hatred _ in his SOUL. It's nearly painful in and of itself, how intense his desire to kill this fucking brat is. One way or another, he assures himself, he'll make them pay. He'll make them suffer until they're screaming for him to kill them once and for all. 

And he'll be all too glad to oblige when they do.


	3. There's Nothing More Hilarious Than You Thinking You're in Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harsh lessons

Chara watches him curl up against the wall, eye sockets shutting and sleep overtaking him almost instantly. Their plan is going well so far. When they'd first decided to _play_ with the comedian, they hadn't really had a set goal in mind, but eight days had given them time to make actual concrete plans and to do just a little bit of research.

They _had_ always wanted a pet, not that their mother had allowed it. Apparently they were too irresponsible. The thought makes them chuckle. If only Mommie Dearest could see them now.

Reaching over, the human types out another sequence of tiny buttons. Sans hadn't screamed during the last electrocution, either through sheer force of will or due to being used to it by now. Either way, upping the intensity by… Oh, about twenty percent… Would do him a world of good. Probably. He’d certainly be in for a nasty surprise when he woke up. That done, they leave the dungeon, humming under their breath.

 

“scream all y’fuckin’ want, brat, n’body’s c’min’ t’ help- **_AAHHH_ **!” Sans is forcibly yanked from his pleasant dream as the higher voltage is administered right on time, jarring him awake. He tears his throat raw screaming, and is audibly gasping for breath when it's finally over, wheezing heavily and trying to subdue the nearly overwhelming sense of panic growing in his chest.

It takes him a moment to remember that he's the prisoner of some sadistic brat.

He shivers, trying to shake off the residual tremors. He feels a bit better after his nap, but hardly _good_.

Chara slips into the cell, all smiles and smugness. “How was your sleep, Sansy~?”

He scowls at them, not even bothering to lift his head. He wants to tell them it was shit, or to go fuck themself, but he’s afraid they'll use that as justification to not give him another chance at rest. “... was… alr’ght…” He mutters, loud enough they can hear him but not so loud it makes his voice hurt any more. And though he’d rather have every bone in his body snapped, he adds, “th’nk ‘uo.” He knows how this kind of thing works. It’s not like Boss didn't sometimes pull this shit.

Chara chuckles, pleased. They knew he was a fast learner. “I brought you a present~.”

“oh boy.”

“Well if you don't want it,” Chara shrugs, reaching into their pocket and removing a ring of keys. They give it a little shake for emphasis. “I could always take it back.”

“you’re just gonna throw it in fronta me and leave.” Sans growls, clenching the chained fists behind his back, “i know how sadists like you work.”

“Well, yes.” The human says nonchalantly. “It’ll be up to you to actually _use_ them.” They retreat to the outside of the cell and lock the door, then toss the keys. They skitter across the stonework until they bump up against his sneaker.

“you can’t tell but i’m flipping you off.” Sans assures them, glaring at the essentially useless pieces of metal at his feet.

Chara scowls. “Well I _would_ come in and unlock them myself, but you’d probably either try to run or bite me.”

He sneers at them, “still scared of me then, huh? **_good_ **.”

“It's not like you could actually hurt me, Sansy. At least not permanently. I just thought you might like a little more room to move. And since you were behaving so well earlier, I thought it was prudent to reward you a bit. But it's no skin off my back if you don't want to be able to move about.”

“i can’t hurt you permanently.” Sans agrees, the sneer darkening, “but you still know how _badly_ i can make you want to hurry up and just fucking _die_ , can’t you?” He leans forward, his golden tooth glistening, “i miss those fights of ours - nothin’ felt more satisfying then spraying your blood over the floor and walls...watchin’ the light drain out of your eyes...tearing that demonic SOUL of yours into _little._ **_bitty. p̸̵̠̭͖̰̫̝̎̑͋͗͑̈ͅi̷̤̼͆͊̉́ͧͦ̽͋́ͅe̴̛̳͎͇̭͙̰̒̋̎̔̀͗͒͊ç̨͇̘̖̗͉͇̞ͣͦ̓͂ͯ́ͣ̿̚͟e̱̻̪̙̞͖̦̤̊̃͒s̨̢ͬ̉͆̔̔ͅ.”_ ** He echoes their earlier taunt in a mocking voice, laughing at them, “good memories, huh?”

Well. If he doesn't want to cooperate, then Chara will have to go for plan B. They turn around, sweeping from the dungeon without a word. They’re back within five minutes, a small, bracelet-sized device in hand.

“Sansy, do you know what this is?”

“a friendship bracelet?” He guesses sarcastically.

“Well if torture is your friend, yes.” They wink. “It's certainly mine.” They continue, “It’s a magic core. Daddy uses them to keep his prisoners alive down here for months at a time without having to worry about feeding them.”

“oh yeah.” Sans stares them in the eye, “and where’s the fun in that for you, huh?”

“Well, it would get me the result I desire.” They say simply. “But it wouldn’t be very fun for you, I don’t think. And I’d honestly rather you retain your sense of self.”

“so either stop being a baby and unlock me or ruin your new ‘toy’ for forever, huh?”

They roll their eyes. “Hardly. It’s more work to rebuild a drooling husk from scratch, certainly, but it would at least be interesting. The choice is not mine-- It’s yours. Either behave or I leave you down here to rot.”

“unlock me.” Sans pauses, and then rolls his eyes heavily, “ _please_.” He practically spits.

They open the cell door and walk back inside, coming over to kneel beside him. Before they lift the keys, they latch the magic core onto his wrist, locking it between his radius and ulna so it cannot be removed without breaking his arm. Only then do they unlock the cuffs, leaving the chain attached to his collar for him to undo himself as they exit the cell and shut it up tight once again.

“what the fuck!” Sans stands up, rubbing at his arms and wincing, “i thought you were gonna leave the fucking friendship bracelet off if i didn’t bite you!”

“I didn’t say that. I said I wouldn’t leave you to rot if you didn’t bite me. The bracelet will keep you from starving if I… forget… to feed you. You should be happy about that.”

Sans grits his teeth, “go back to hell.”

“Nah, I think I’ll go eat some dinner. If you weren’t so rude to me,” They laugh, “Maybe I would be inclined to share. Think about that.” They skip off, whistling. Watching him get upset at their wordplay is always fun.

Sans punches the wall and steps away from the door, grinding his teeth and keeping his fists clenched. Fucking _brat…_

He hears the collar beep.

“... _Chara_ -!”

… They’d actually forgotten the collar returns to default settings after a time delay. With a little giggle, they stop and savor the screams from down the hall.

 _“Chara please_!”

They glance back in the direction of their captive. Should they go? He’d been so _very_ rude today, even after they let him loose in his cell.

“Ch-Chara i’m s...i’m _s-sorry_ , okay?! i’m _sorry_ come b-back turn it off!”

They decide to indulge him and head back to the cell, leaning against the bars of the one opposite and crossing their arms. They don’t say a word, just raise an eyebrow.

Luckily he’s already collapsed to his knees, “....Ch-Chara pl...p-please turn it off? or delay for more th-than fifteen f-fucking minutes i s-swear to god i-it’s driving me insane i c-can’t take it, _please_ …!”

“Why should I? You’ve already shown you’re not going to be good for me.”

“i didn’t attack y-you when you c-came in here, h-huh? i s-said i wouldn’t a-and i didn’t..”

“After I had to threaten to leave you to rot with nothing to occupy you but waiting for your collar to go off again.”

“okay, so i’m a bit of a shithead! th-this isn’t anything n-new! i j...l-look, th-that’s how i’m t-trained to f-fucking survive i f...th-the moment i w-wuss out is wh-when i g-get the w-worst b-beating, okay th-that’s what i’m f-fucking _used to_ i d...i-i-i’m h-having a hard t-time t-trusting a-any kinda system wh-where g-giving up i-is _r-rewarded_ , okay th-that’s not how th-things are s-supposed to f-fucking work, here!”

Chara steps forward, narrowing their eyes. “Let me make one thing clear to you right now, Sans. I. Am. Not. Papyrus. And if you don’t play the game _my way_ , I’ll only give you a bad time. So you’d better start unlearning all those _survival_ instincts if you want me to show you any kind of MERCY.”

Sans nods quickly, approaching the cell door and holding up his hands, “o-okay. o-okay i got it, n-now please w...the collar? please?”

The human gives him a smile that’s considerably warmer than anything they’d shown him previously. “There you go. Come a little closer.” He steps right up to the bars and they start hitting buttons. “I wouldn’t recommend you try this yourself. It’s programmed to give an endless, continuous shock if an incorrect code is inputted.” They step away. “It’s set to an hour’s delay.”

Sans braces his forehead against the bars, “that's _it_?”

“Show me you can actually follow through with behaving and I might consider extending it.”

“ _might_?!”

“I can always change it back.” They say darkly.

Sans scoots back from them quickly, lifting his shoulders, “no.”

“I don’t need your cooperation, I just have to wait for it to go off and you won’t be able to stop me.”

“please no.”

“Apologize.”

“i’m sorry.”

“Good.” They praise. “Now, I’ll be back tomorrow. Have a good night, Sansy~” They skip off.

Sans sits down in the corner and pulls his knees up to his forehead, hiding his face in the thick sleeves of his coat and swallowing. He looks at the floor as he breathes in deeply and slowly, trying to focus on staying calm. He’s still angry. He still hates them and half of his mind is dedicated to constantly fantasizing about putting them through this same bullshit and then some.

It’s getting harder, though, to let that anger mask his fear. Because as much as he hates to admit it, he’s scared. What Chara said to him, about wanting to break him - that scares him. The threat of being left to rot scares him. This stupid shock collar scares him.

But not being able to do a damn thing about it is what scares him the most.

 

Chara can’t help but hum to themself and twirl in a circle in the empty halls of the castle. Things are going well. They have some long term plans to take care of, but they’ve already got the seed of an idea-- they just have to work out all the details. And while they do that, they can work on getting Sans to the point they can actually implement them.

He’s close. Not there. But close.

Chara cuddles into the dusty old bed that used to belong to them, grinning savagely at the teddy bear staring at them from across the room.

Soon.

 

Sans stares at the equations he’s written out across the cell’s brick wall, biting at his knuckles and squinting. Absently he drags a thumb over the dark bone below his sockets and wincing as more blood seeps out from the self-inflicted wound on his hand. He lets it drip onto his thumb before continuing out the long sequence.

There’s no way for him to test any of these numbers, of course, being far, far from his lab. But it’s something to think about. And with the collar only delayed by an hour, he prefers to stay awake. Being able to brace himself is better than passing out only to wake up to agony without warning.

The one good thing about this stupid ‘friendship bracelet’ is that it forces his HP to stay up, so the constant bleeding from his marrow doesn’t kill him.

The bright red doesn’t stand out too well in the dim lighting, though. He has to keep squinting, and he develops a migraine soon enough.

“eighty-seven, four and fifty, take the rema...no... _fuck_ …” He scratches at the last series with the heel of his palm, growling in frustration, “wrong, wrong wrong _wrong_ , you fucking idiot…”

The collar beeps again and he has enough time to choke out a curse before falling to his knees, shrieking as sparks dance across his bones. It’s painful, it’s not something he can get used to, and the longer time delay actually makes it more difficult to keep track of how long he has left. He’s definitely misjudged here.

Still, what a perfectly timed punishment for his stupid mathematical mistake. Sans picks himself up off the floor with a shaky swear, wiping the sweat off of his forehead and shrugging off his jacket. It used to be generally cold down here but with the constant electrocution, he feels like he’s overheating. He pulls up the collar of his t-shirt to wipe at his forehead before forcing his mind to refocus on the problems scribbled across the brick wall.

It’s no use. After that shock, he can’t do more than look cross-eyed at the mathematics, his vision blurring and his head pounding. “fuckin’ hell…” He sinks to his knees, holding his head and breathing heavily through his teeth. He feels like throwing up.

He _has_ to earn a larger delay. He can’t survive like this.

How long until the kid comes back, though? And what the fuck is he supposed to say that’ll actually convince them to give him more time? He doesn’t want to spew out a bunch of pathetic ‘please’s just to have them laugh sadistically at his misery.

He supposed he could try being a bit less antagonistic, but they just piss him off so much…

...maybe he can just shut his fucking mouth. That usually makes things at least 50% better.

 

Days pass in relative solitude. After three days without a snarky remark, Chara allows him a two hour delay, and then on the seven day mark he’s once again ‘gifted’ an extension.

The human finishes typing out the delay sequence once more, bringing a three-hour delay to the collar. “I'm impressed. It only took you a week.”

“to what.” Sans mumbles, wincing and rubbing at the bone under the collar.

“To figure out when to hold your tongue.” They smile, patting him on top of the head.

He manages to not try and bite their entire fucking hand off and just steps away from the cell door, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning his back to them. At least he can sleep for a decent amount of time, now.

If only he weren't so fucking hungry, everything would be peachy. His stomach growls loudly and he rubs at it absently, muttering a grumpy ‘deal with it’ to himself and letting his arms go slack at his sides.

It's getting increasingly hard to ignore.

He looks back to glare weakly at the child still watching him, “can i help you?”

They just grin back. It's only a matter of time before he pulls something stupid. He shifts uncomfortably under their stare, retreating to the farthest, darkest corner and sitting down against the wall.

“when’re you gonna let me eat, Chara?” The question slips out before he can stop it.

They just laugh and walk away. Fucking shithead.


	4. Appetite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans is hungry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Lucy but it's not stuffing I promise
> 
> ...justdusteating

Sans gives himself a day. One day to get as much sleep as he can manage. Then he has to make a move.

Common sense uses all 24 hours to try and talk him out of it. But he ignores it. Yes he's going to get in trouble. Big trouble. But maybe it'll convince Chara that he needs to be fed more than once a week.

_ ‘or they'll never feed me ever again _ .’

Details. Minor details.

He's gotten an idea of a sense of time, based on Chara's visits. There's no daylight down here. But they'll go for periods of eight to nine hours without making any kind of appearance, and he figures they're probably asleep.

Sans approaches his cell door, leaning out and sticking his pinkie finger in the lock. It snaps as he twists it, but he swallows down the cry of pain and continues picking the lock. Eventually the door swings open, to his relief. He cradles his injured hand as he silently makes for the prison door.

They left that unlocked, luckily. Probably because they hadn't been expecting him to make it this far. 

_ ‘or it's a trap and they're just waiting for me. _ ’

More details.

Sans slips silently down the hall, making his way to the kitchen. He's just going to grab a few items from the pantry and then sneak right back. That's all.

No need to be even stupider.

 

Chara yawns, shuffling down the stairs and hall. They had been getting up to go to the restroom when they’d heard a small series of noises, coming from the direction of the kitchens. They thought it may have been Flowey, the only monster besides Sans they haven’t yet tracked down and killed off, and they aren’t about to pass up an opportunity to crush his petals beneath their boots.

As much as they love their brother, there is no place for his compassion here.

They step silently into the kitchen, drawing their knife slowly so as to not spook whomever is in the pantry. It wouldn’t do for Flowey to pop out of the room before they can kill him off.

Sans stiffens when he hears the softest creak of foot on floorboards, immediately taking advantage of his small size and curling himself up behind some large flour barrels, holding deathly still and holding his arm over his mouth to keep his breathing quiet. 

The pantry door slides open slowly, Chara stepping lightly into the room and closing it with a click behind them. He can see the knife in their hand, a long dark shadow attached to their small arm. Fuck.

Chara’s head swings back and forth. “Azzy~? Come out, come out, wherever you are~!”

He sucks in a breath. Why would they be looking for  _ Asriel _ ? The Prince was long dead… Maybe they really were insane.

Unfortunately, Chara seems to have heard his gasp.

“There you are~!”

Fuck. 

“.....s-sup.”

The human goes very stiff, and Sans realizes abruptly that, though they’d heard him, they hadn’t  _ seen _ him.

“Sansy?” Their voice is flat, icicles dripping from it. “What are you doing out of your room, Sansy?” 

Sans gets up, his body trembling out of exhaustion from the simple task, and keeps his hands up, surrendering, “i was hungry.” He mumbles. 

Chara’s gaze darkens, and for a moment it seems as if their sockets have gone entirely black, in much the same way his own could. “ **_LIAR_ ** .” They spit, their voice much deeper and rougher than he’d ever heard. “ **_YOU WERE TRYING TO RUN AWAY,_ ** _ WEREN’T Y O U _ ?”

Whoa.

Sans backs up, “wh..what? no, i w...th-the pantry isn't exactly the exit, kid..”

“ **_Suferos_ ** .” They spit, and instantly, the collar beeps.

His sockets blacken, “ _ shit _ -”

 

The screams seem especially loud in the cramped space. When it ends and he collects himself, Chara is pinning him down, their face… Melting? And teeth sharp as his own. The knife is held just below his bad eye socket.

Sans struggles to keep his eyes open, gaze switching between the knife and Chara's fucked up face, “wh...wh-what…?”

“Oh, Sansy~ You were doing so well.” They almost sound regretful, but he knows it's a load of shit. “But good pets stay in their room. And you left. And that's bad.” They shove the knife into his eye, grin widening. “Bad pets need to be punished.”

Sans screams again, turning his head away and arching his back. “ _ NGAH! n-no no f-fuck, i w-wasn't running h-holy fuck i w-was j-just hungry _ -!”

Chara giggles and twists the blade, holding his head still with their other hand. Now that they're past the initial reaction, they realize he’s probably telling the truth. Still, they didn't think he was so stupid as to actually break out of his cell. 

It is exactly what their ‘plan’ needs, though, a serious misdemeanor for them to show him precisely why it's a bad idea to  _ piss them off _ . “Sansy, Sansy, Sansy. You should've stayed in your room.” 

Sans shuts the eye that isn't being stabbed, breathing through his teeth and not responding aside from pained moans and whimpers. 

Chara pulls the knife out slowly, watching bone marrow leak out onto the floor. Sans’s anatomy makes no sense, but then most monsters’ don't. They pull him to his feet using his collar and drag him out of the pantry, their LV-enhanced strength meaning that he has no hope of squirming free.

He holds his eye, staying hunched over as he stumbles after them, his breathing heavy and shaky. Oh god he's in  _ pain _ . He thought he was before but that was nothing...Sans can't muffle the whimpers that escape him as he rests his palms over his bleeding socket, breath hitching. 

Chara drags him all the way down into the dungeon, but instead of taking him back to his cell as he expects, they drag him right past it and down another hall.

 

Oh, they're angry, all right. But they're also excited. They haven't been to this room since they were still alive. They slam open the door and shove him inside, latching the complicated lock with a practiced motion. They still have it, it seems. Like riding a bike.

There’s a metal table in the center of the room, with obvious implications. “Lie down on it.” They snap at the still-trembling skeleton.

He backs up instead, shoulders hitting the wall as his eyelight shrinks. 

“Sans, I am  _ not _ in the mood for this shit. Lie down or I'm going to shock you again.”

“i s-said i was sorry-”

“ **_Suferos_ ** .” They bite out again, gritting their teeth. Why does he have to be so  _ difficult _ ?

It feels like this electrocution is worse than the last, or maybe he’s just that terrified. He comes back to awareness of more than pain curled up on the floor, shaking violently. 

“Thirty seconds, Sans.” That hated voice snarls above him.

Some exhausted voice in the back of his head reminds him that the name of the game is ‘obedience’, not stubbornness. He pushes himself up, limping over to the table and barely dragging his trembling body onto it.

The human doesn't waste any time in strapping him down, each of the old straps easily tight enough to keep him still. Chara walks away, muttering under their breath as they exit the room.

They're gone for a while, long enough that the timer on his collar goes off at more than one point and long enough that Sans manages to doze a bit despite the situation, but when he’s startled awake by the door slamming open, the first thing that he notices is the familiar smell of some kind of Italian food. 

Chara has the bowl in one hand and a bag in the other. They'd gotten tired of trying to juggle all of the tools they needed for today’s lesson, so they’d simply snagged a duffel from the little log cabin on the edge of Snowdin while they were there.

“Oh, Sansy~ I'm back. Sorry I took so long! But to make it up to you, I brought you a treat~!”

Sans pries open his eyes, following them as best he can at his inconvenient angle and not responding. 

“Since you were hungry enough to be a naughty pet and break out of your room, I figured I'd better make sure you ate something before your punishment. I found lots of recipes in your kitchen while I was in Snowdin!”

Snowdin? What had they been doing in Snowdin?

“...pass…”

“You don’t  _ get  _ a choice.” The human snaps, reaching into the bag and pulling out the  _ other _ things they’d collected from Snowdin. A tattered red scarf and a jar of light grey dust. They set the bowl of spaghetti onto the little table beside the one Sans was strapped to, and then the jar beside it. They continue pulling things out of the bag, mostly gathered from Asgore’s own torture implement collection, and setting them on the table as well. Pliers, several knives, and a few other sharp, pointy things. 

Sans eventually shuts his eyes, blocking out the horrible sights. He senses the table being tilted upwards until he’s resting vertically against the table, his arms and legs still pinned tightly.

Chara methodically opens the jar, dumps it into the bowl with a little  _ poof _ sound, and gives it a vigorous stir. 

“Open up, Sansy!”

His eyes open and his sockets turn black. Immediately he starts fighting with the restraints, gritting his teeth and turning his face away. 

“Suit yourself.” Chara shrugs, using a single arm to pin his head to the table. They're covering his eyes, now, and he can't squirm out of their grip. He hears them fumble for something on the table, and then something cold and hard grasps his gold tooth.

He's screaming before he can process what happened. It takes the taste of blood in his mouth and the sight of red on gold before he can really understand that they'd just ripped out his tooth without so much as a warning. “f-f..uck…” Sans pants, squeezing his eyes shut. 

Chara carelessly tosses his false tooth away and then the fork is once again prodding insistently at his remaining teeth.

Sans shakes his head. 

Chara’s other hand goes for the pliers, their smile dropping and gaze darkening. “You will eat the food I made for you, or I will rip out every single one of your teeth and force feed it to you.”

“y-you’re sick you’re fucking  _ s-sick  _ you t-twisted little d-demon y-you’re f-fucking sick..!”

They take him opening his mouth as an invitation to shove the forkful of dust-tainted pasta into his mouth. Sans spits it out immediately, shaking his head and coughing. His bones are somehow paling and he looks up at them pleadingly.

Chara smacks him, growling. “You should just take your punishment if you know what’s good for you.”

Sans starts fighting more violently against the restraints, keeping his jaw clamped firmly shut and turning his face away from the dusty spaghetti. He still feels some powder against the side of his mouth, and it makes him sick to his SOUL.

“Alright. You want to do this the hard way then.” They sigh, putting the fork down and lifting the pliers. A hand is set on his skull to hold him still, and another tooth is grasped in the tool.

His shoulders tremble and he cries out as another tooth is pulled, feeling blood pouring into his mouth as he fights back sobs.

“Now, should I pull another or are you going to obey?”

“y-you c...c-can’t m...m-make me do th-this..”

“Alright. All of them it is.” They punctuate their statement by pulling out another.

Sans jerks his head back, spitting the blood into their face when they step close again and trying to mask his panic with anger.

They freeze for just a moment, then, slowly, “ **_Y o u  s h o u l d n ‘ t  h a v e  d o n e  t h a t._ ** ”

  
  
  


There's a moment of discontinuity, then Sans is alone, unharmed, and still strapped to the table. He takes advantage of the opportunity to breathe, gasping in air and coughing as he literally chokes back sobs, curling up his fists. He can't do this. He can't do this…

...but he can't leave. He can't even teleport or kill himself. He's trapped. He's  _ trapped  _ and that's terrifying because he's never been truly trapped before there was always  _ some _ way out. But now there's not. 

Chara storms into the room, duffel in hand. The bowl is nowhere to be seen. Sans spots a yellow, sparkling light out of the corner of his eye, nestled into the corner of the room and they drop the bag, walk to it, and walk back. 

“I think it’s time I explained to you, in terms even you aren't stupid enough to misunderstand, exactly what your situation is.” They hiss.

Sans swallows, watching them intently and saying nothing. 

They dig in the bag for a moment and remove the scarf and jar of dust, stomping over and pulling the lever to tilt the table once again. “This--” they begin, lifting the jar, “--is your brother. I'm sure even  _ you _ are smart enough to figure that out.”

Much to Sans’s confusion, they drape Papyrus's dusty scarf over their shoulders and around their neck. “It took me  _ one strike _ to  **dust** your brother. One. One slash of my knife, and you're an only child. Over and over and  _ over _ again. Even when you tried to go off script and warn him or stop him from going after me, he always came. He always died. Over. And over. And  _ OVER _ !” They slam a hand on either side of his head, getting right into his face. The tattered red cloth around their neck somehow only made them look more angry, more violent. “I could beat your brother into the  _ ground _ , without even breaking a sweat. He’s not a threat. He’s barely on my radar.” 

Chara gives Sans their most terrifying smile. “But you. You practically  _ belong _ to him, don't you? He doesn't love you like you love him. He doesn't love you at all. He thinks of you as just another piece of property, an abused pet at best.  **_Doesn't he_ ** ?”

Sans shrinks back against the table, looking down and tightening his jaw. He doesn't respond. 

“ANSWER ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU!” Chara shrieks. 

Sans jolts in place, bones rattling, “y-yeah...y-yeah y-you’re r-right…” He sucks in a breath, “h-he doesn't f-fucking c-care he n-never d-did..”

Chara nods, a satisfied grin on their face. “That’s right Sansy~.” They tilt their head, curious. “I can't help but wonder… Are you familiar with the concept of ‘right of conquest’?”

“...y-you’re g-gonna explain it anyw-way…”

“I am.” They agree cordially. “What it boils down to? I  _ AM _ YOUR BOSS. I killed your brother. You belong to me. And if you don't get that through your thick skull, I'm going to crush it. I'm going to bash it in with a hammer. I'm going to kill you in the most painful way I can think of. And then I'll think of a new way, bring you back, and kill you again. And again. And again. I'm going to kill you over and over again until you can't think of anything but pleasing me so the pain will stop. I'm going to leave you strapped here with your collar set to go off every ten minutes until the magic core runs out, and then I'll wait until you starve to death and bring you back for more. I'll cut off all your limbs and stab you in the SOUL with your own damned femur, I'll poison you and drown you and electrocute you until you don't know your own fucking name.  **_I  o w n  you, and you will start doing as you’re told or I will destroy you and move on to your brother._ ** ”

Sans is trembling badly, “y-you c-couldn’t h-h-hurt h-him...h-he’s s-stronger th-than y-you...h-he’d d-die a m-million t-times b-before e-even th-thinking about g-giving i-in t-to y-you…!” He chokes out. 

“And you'd let him go through all of that because  _ you’re _ not willing to take it?” They sneer. “Some brother you are.”

“wh…” Sans grits his teeth, ducking his head, “i don't  _ fucking understand why you're wasting your time on me _ !”

Chara merely smiles in response. “It’s  **fun** , Sansy.” They grin, then pitch their voice just a tad lower. “ _ Sans, you are completely, utterly worthless in every way _ .” They say, in a tone as close to the one they’d hear his brother use an infinite amount of times before. “ _ Weak, pathetic, and completely useless. I don’t know why I even keep you around. It would be easier to dust you and be done with it _ .” They lean in, grin growing sharp. 

He turns his eyes down, “....th-then just d-do it. j-just dust me if it's a-all i-i’m g-good for…”

How many times had they watched this conversation play out between the brothers? Too many to count. They certainly know what Papyrus’s response was. “ _ You’re not even worth that much energy, whelp. _ ”

Sans flinches violently, like he's been struck, biting his teeth and ducking his chin to his collar. 

“Who am I, Sans?” Chara asks, a little smirk playing on their lips. The wrong answer would mean they hadn’t  _ quite _ drilled their point into the little skeleton just yet. The right one… Well, they still had a punishment to give out.

“...m-my Boss.”

“And  _ why _ is that?”

He glares weakly at the floor, “because you killed him?”

“And because I say so. Because my word is  _ law _ to you. Or else.” Chara hisses. “Now that we have that little issue cleared up, I think we need to revisit your punishment for leaving your room.”

“...what can i do to t-take dust eating out of the equation…”

Chara smacks him. “You can start by addressing me properly.”

Sans muffles a yelp, taking in a sharp breath through his nose, “...s-sorry, Boss…”

“To answer your question, nothing. I’ve decided your punishment, you will take it or I’ll make it worse. Like right now. You fought me on it, so you’ll be eating it straight-- No pasta to mask the taste.” Their grin is sharp. “And if you fight, I’ll go back to ripping out all your teeth, clamping your mouth open and force-feeding it to you.”

Sans cowers back in his seat, “p-please n-no-”

The human growls. “That had better be please no for the ripping out your teeth option, Sans. Because if you’re arguing…” They let the threat hang in the air, as they’ve already made their intentions clear.

Sans swallows, falling silent. His trembling worsens.

Chara, meanwhile, seems to only get more excited, drawing a large spoon out of the duffel bag and unscrewing the lid on the jar of Papyrus’s dust. “Open up~.”

_ ‘Papyrus wouldn't cry. _ ’ Sans reminds himself as he parts his jaw, clenching his fists and holding his breath. 

Chara hums as they feed him the spoonful of powder, patting him on the skull. “Swallow it.” They command calmly.

He clamps his teeth shut, chest heaving as he struggles to obey. 

_ ‘Papyrus wouldn't even flinch.’ _

Just barely he chokes it down, coughing and wheezing as he does so. 

It’s almost instantly replaced with another spoonful, more heaping than the last.

_ ‘Papyrus would stare them in the eye.’  _

Sans chokes it down again, but not without a whimper. 

“I wonder if he tastes good.” Chara muses aloud, gathering another large bite. “Are you still hungry, Sans? If you’re good and make it through the whole jar, I’ll let you have that spaghetti.”

He shakes his head, breath hitching.

_ ‘Papyrus  _ **_wouldn't cry…_ ** _ ’  _

Sans gulps, chest starting to shudder.

_ ‘...i’m...not Papyrus.. _ ’ 

“g-gh…” He lets go of the unbearable tension in his throat and finally starts crying. 

“Aww, poor Sansy.” Chara mocks, petting him again. “But you brought this on yourself, remember? This is your fault.” They scoop out one last bite, deciding to save the rest for another day, and hold it out. “One more, sweetie.”

For once he doesn't lean away from their false gentle touch, just stays limp under it. He forces down the last bite, choking and sobbing. No more no more no more,  _ please _ …

“Now tell me what you did wrong, why you did it, why you shouldn’t have, and then  _ apologize _ . Wrong answers will get you more bites.”

Sans takes a moment to force himself to breathe before answering, “i l-left m-my c...m-my room...w-without p-permission, c..c-cause i w-was h-hungry...i w-was g-going to g-go right b-back…” He adds in a whisper before continuing, “...i sh-shouldn’t have l-left w-without express p-permission a-and i’m s-sorry i’m s-so sorry, B-Boss, i’m s-sorry…” His voice gets more strained as he talks, eventually cracking at the end as he redirects his apology to his dead brother - he couldn't even give him a proper burial. 

Chara smiles slightly, allowing him a moment to breathe. “Correct. Now remember that format-- the next time you  _ fuck up _ , I’m going to expect it without prompting after your punishment. Understood?”

“y-y-yes B-Boss…”

Chara puts the table back into its original position and undoes the straps. They doubt he’s going to try anything stupid, but if he does they can just reload and follow through with a few of their threats. Of course, rather unsurprisingly, Sans passes out almost immediately.

They decide to move onto the next stage of their plan, and scoop him into their arms to take him upstairs to their bedroom.


	5. Faustian Bargain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans makes a deal without considering the consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, Insane here for once! I'm posting this because Lucy went to bed without posting a new chapter and she also left me on a cliffhanger because she's very mean. XD This chapter: Sans! Chara! Bad Ideas that are bad for Sans! Good ideas that are bad for Sans! Sans not having a good time! No tooth pulling or dust eating though.  
>  ~~probably~~

Sans is awoken by the sound of beeping, and then the familiar agony of electrocution. He screams but the sound immediately dies out when the shocks do and he goes limp on the pillow he's lying on, too exhausted to cry.

….

..pillow? 

He forces open his eyes and looks around - he's on the floor in a royal suite, resting on a thick cushion which he immediately recognizes as a pet bed.

He tries to take a moment to be indignant but just collapses back onto it, groaning at the softness of it and curling his small frame into the pillow. It beats the cement floor of the dungeon by a long shot. 

Chara steps out of one of the doors along the bedroom wall, steam wafting out behind them indicating that it’s the bathroom. “Morning, Sansy! You slept through three shocks, I’m actually impressed.”

No  _ wonder  _ his bones feel like they've been through the wringer. Sans groans pitifully, rubbing at his neck and burying his face in the soft cushion. 

“Lucky you, though, I’m in a very good mood today. Sooooo~ I want to make you an offer.”

He slowly lifts his head so he's watching them carefully with both eyes, looking suspicious and scared. 

“I will suspend the timer for forty-eight hours. No shocks for two whole days!” They grin. “And all you have to do in return is let me see your SOUL for a little bit.”

Sans sits up, studying their expression warily, “...wh...c-can i ask what..what exactly y-you’re gonna do to i-it, Boss…?” It's not like he holds much value to his own SOUL. But the abuse of it still hurts horribly. 

“Nothing that will hurt.” At least, not right away. But during the eleven or so hours he’d been asleep, they’d done a little research, and found a device in their Dad’s ‘tool room’ that would suit their needs perfectly. They just needed him to hand over the little heart willingly or the cursed thing wouldn’t attach.

Sans scratches nervously at the pet bed, “...forty-eight hours…?”

“Two whole days.”

“...and you'll  _ let _ me sleep, r-right? n..n-no tricks…?”

“No tricks. As long as you behave yourself you get to stay in that bed all you like during those two days.” They confirm.

The thought of actual, uninterrupted  _ sleep _ ...it's too much. 

And anyway if he says ‘no’ then they'll just get angry. 

Sans closes his eyes, sitting up and bracing a hand over his chest, “o-okay Boss…”

Chara holds out their hand. They want the little ball of magic before messing with the collar, just in case doing so screws up the whole ‘willing’ stipulation with coercion. He draws out his SOUL, hesitating a good couple of seconds before handing it over. 

“Good boy.” Chara coos, bending down to press an even more complicated series of buttons. The collar beeps several times, Sans flinching reflexively with each sound, but then goes dormant. He doesn’t need to know that the activation phrase won’t work for at least twenty four hours, either. Besides, once they do this, they won’t even need the collar. They stand and walk into the study attached to the bedroom, leaving Sans alone.

“...th..th-thank you Boss…”

Chara hears Sans’s soft declaration just as the door snaps shut and smirks. He won’t be thanking them when he realizes just what they’re going to do.

They’d found the information on Bonders in Asgore’s study. He’d apparently been looking to use one on Toriel before learning that they didn’t work on Boss Monster souls, and that they only could be attached to SOULs handed over willingly. Sans was not a Boss Monster. And he’d given the little organ up without a fight. So this  _ should _ work.

Chara uses three drops of their own blood to key the device to them. Concentrated magic, such as tears or dust or similar would also work, hence why monsters were able to use these at all, but blood would work just fine.

The Bonder is a small, string-like device. It had started out white, but turns the same shade of red as their SOUL when they added their blood. Touching the end to Sans’s Soul causes the little red thread to wind around it like a snake and embed itself in the magic, preventing it from coming off unless Chara wanted it to. 

It gives them complete control over Sans’s magic, allowing them to shut it off at will while being able to allow him to use it if there were a need. They can use it to punish him from a distance, and though it won’t be nearly as fun as punishing him in person, it will be useful for their future plans. They have a vague sense of where he is at all times, and it will  get stronger if they actually focus on it.

 

All in all, it is like an upgraded version of the magic dampening collar they already had him in.

 

The little white inverted heart, now seemingly wrapped in red string, lay innocently in their plan. They leave the study to find Sans still watching the door, waiting for them to come out. He notices the change in his SOUL immediately but keeps his mouth shut. If they want to brag about what they did, then they will in their own time. 

Chara offers him his SOUL with a little smirk. “See, Sansy? Painless.” 

Sans holds it in his palms, looking over the white heart with unmasked disgust at the dim cracks and small size of it. He shoves it back in his chest and lies down, curling up with his knees to his forehead. 

“Goodnight, Sansy~!” Chara chirps. Two days to keep their word to their pet… 

And then they’ll reload, just to be certain the Bonder will stick around.

Then they’ll reset.

 

He sleeps the entire forty-eight hours. Aside from occasional mutterings in his sleep, accompanied by fitful tossing and turning, he stays unnoticeable. Chara can't resist kneeling next to him and petting him once or twice during his practically comatose sleep. He just looks too adorable.

Sans finds himself finally waking up to the sensation of them stroking his skull. 

“Well hello there.” Chara hums, noticing his eyes are open and blinking up at them in confusion. “Did you have a good sleep?”

“...y..yes Boss…”

“Good. Now, you’re going to help me with a little experiment.” They say, “It’s easy, you won’t even need to move much.”

“....k..kay..” There’s a familiar feeling of the world just  _ stopping _ for a moment, and he’s suddenly tired again. Chara exits the bathroom, steam flowing out of the door. 

“Is the string still on your SOUL?”

Sans blinks slowly, his head suddenly heavy, “..d...did y’just...reload….?”

“Answer the question, Sans.” Chara says in a warning tone.

He feels frustrated tears springing into the corners of his sockets as he fumbles with his SOUL, drawing it out for them to look at. That was all for  _ nothing _ then he's  _ still tired _ what was the  _ point _ ?!

They roll their eyes before inspecting the little red thread. “Relax, sweetie, you’ll get your sleep again. I'm actually taking that collar off entirely; this will do its job without the shocks.” They gently prod the thread. “It’s completely controlled by my will.”

Sans shudders at that, “...n-no more shocks, though…?”

“I can make it mimic the feeling if you misbehave, but no. Once I take the collar off, the continual shocking will end.” They left unsaid that they could easily just put it back on him. “Now come here so I can remove it.”

He swallows, standing up on shaking legs and approaching them, keeping his chin tilted up, “..th-thanks..”

The human narrows their eyes but doesn’t speak. They pull a key that they’d been wearing around their neck out from under their shirt and use it to unlock the metal circlet. “There you go, Sansy.”

Sans rubs at his now bare neck, falling back to his seat on the dog bed and giving a shaky sigh of relief.

Annoyed now, Chara stares at the little white heart and focuses on causing pain. Sans jolts as a feeling nearly identical to the collar’s shocks shoots through him.

“ **_ngh_ ** !” He curls up tighter in the bed as if this can protect him, clawing at the fabric and breathing hard through his teeth. 

Chara ends the sensation, staring at him. “At least I know it works.” They mutter.

“g-gh...h-hf...d..d-did i d-do s-something to d-deserve th-that, or…?”

Chara eyes him. “You haven’t addressed me properly since I reset. I just thought a little reminder was in order~.”

“...s-sorry boss..” Sans says wearily, shrugging off his coat as he starts sweating from the heat of the shocks.

Chara nods, bending down to give him back his SOUL. “I can do that no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Keep that in mind, my little puppy.” They grin.

“...’m not a puppy.” Sans mutters into his coat as he wraps his arms around it, hugging it like a security blanket.

Chara laughs. “Aren’t you? You’re my little pet, and if I want to call you my little puppy than I will. Because, as I’ve said before-- My words is law to you.”

Sans groans and hides his face in the fluffy white fur of his hood, sighing, “fine…”

The human exits the room without another word, heading into the hallway. Sans looks after them in confusion for a moment, then decides to just drop it and go back to sleep. 


	6. Ask Me No Questions You'll Be Told No Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What about that Pacifist, anyhow?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^ AO3 is having an issue and Lucy can't get rid of the end/beginning notes of the story  
> srry

Chara returns an hour or so later, finally ready to reset. They can’t decide, though, if they want to explain their expectations to Sans or let him flounder and attempt to figure out what he’s supposed to do to avoid long-distance shocking on his own.

In the end they decide it will be easier on them if they tell him. They reenter their bedroom to find him asleep; unsurprising. They nudge him awake with their shoe.

Sans groans, “y’said i could sleep…”

“You did sleep.”

He grumbles something under his breath and opens one eye, watching them, “...whatcha want…”

They kick him.

Sans swears and curls over himself, huffing, “what do you want,  _ boss _ ?”

Chara smirks. “I'm going to reset soon, little puppy~.”

His eye twitches, “what?”

“I'm starting a new timeline, Sansy! It’ll be fun.” They plop down beside the pet bed, wondering what’s going through his mind.

Sans watches them expectantly. When they say nothing, he prompts, “...so the rules…?”

The big smile that spreads across their face is actually terrifying. “Good boy!” They cheer, patting him on the head.

Sans immediately pulls back further into the pet bed, clutching his jacket tighter.

“All you have to do is make sure you stick to the script.” Chara coos reassuringly. “And if you do that, I won't bother killing your brother.”

“...that’s it?”

“Obviously not doing it will lead to consequences you won't like.” Chara adds, reaching out and beginning to pet him. “But you can go ahead and spend a day or two with your brother while I do my work.” Their grin is sharp. “And of course, you’ll need to be careful~ You won't have any magic to protect yourself.”

“...i’ll be dust in ten minutes.” Sans argues. “i can’t do my normal patrol - you know i get attacked at least five times in one day, right?”

“I’ll let you have a trickle, then. Enough to pop away from trouble. That’s all.”

“good.”

“I hope you don't think that means you can go attacking me. I’d hate to have to stash you away, feeling like you're continually being ripped into pieces and put back together, or endlessly being electrocuted until I'm done with my tasks.”

Sans watches them with a bored expression as they list their threats, “...it’d be really satisfying to kill you again.” He admits, “but it wouldn’t be worth it.”

“No, it wouldn't.” Chara says lowly. “You have no idea what I put on your SOUL, do you?”

“...no, not..n-not really..boss..”

They nod, getting to their feet and grabbing a book off of their nightstand. There is a red bookmark sticking out. “You have forty-seven hours before I reset. I suggest you read that.”

Sans takes the book, slowly flipping to the bookmark, “...okay…”

 

It’s a few quiet hours after that, Sans growing more and more horrified with every page and Chara boredly bouncing a ball off of the ceiling.

“...th…” Sans shuts the book and pushes it away, crossing his arms over his stomach and drawing his knees in as he shakes his head.

“Something wrong, little puppy?”

“that’s f-f-fucked up…” Sans whispers.

“What’s fucked up, honey?” Chara asks with a smirk, sliding off of their bed to sit beside him. “The part where it can't be removed by anyone but me, and doing so will Fracture you? Or maybe the part where I can make you collapse in pain with just a thought no matter where you are in relation to me?” 

“s-stop..”

“Or maybe it's that I have total control over how much magic you can use?” 

“stop…” Sans whines, curling tighter. Chara wraps their arms around him in a mockery of a hug. 

“Maybe it's that no matter how far you run, or where you hide, I will always be able to find you?”

“i  _ get it _ ! i r-read the f-fucking thing myself y-you know..!”

“Poor puppy~” They singsong, rubbing his skull. “Sold your SOUL for a few hours’ sleep.”

Sans grits his teeth, “like i r-really had any f-fucking choice…”

“If you hadn't given it to me willingly I wouldn't have been able to Bind you~ You brought this on yourself.”

Sans puts his face in his hands, his breathing growing shallower.

“Did I scare you, Sansy?”

“wh-why are you d-doing this to me?!”

“Because I  _ can _ .”

“we were f-finally happy...w-we were all f-finally  _ happy  _ up there on the s-surface wh...what did you  _ do to them _ ?!” Sans yells, his eye burning weakly as he glares at them, “what did you do to Frisk?!”

Chara’s gaze darkens, their lips pulling into a scowl. “Frisk is  _ dead _ .” They hiss.

“you k...you k-killed them…” His voice is hoarse, and he grits his teeth, turning his head away, “y-you’re a f-fucking demon..!”

“I didn't kill them.  _ Undyne  _ killed them.”

Sans bursts into raucous laughter, “we were on the surface for  _ three fucking years _ do you think i’m some kind of idiot?!”

“You really think she wouldn’t? She was impulsive and violent at the best of times, don't get me started on when she was angry. And she  _ was _ . I don't know why she did it. I don't know how. Those memories of Frisk’s are disjointed and pain-filled, they're too hazy for me to make out most of the time. I don't really know what happened, but I do know it was her. They were arguing… I haven't heard from them since.” Chara’s voice is distant, anger on their face. “An angel struck down for no reason, because a monster was angry about something that was most likely pointless. It's sickening.”

**_“i’m not a fucking idiot, Chara!”_ **

“ **_You think I'm lying?_ ** !” They snarl, their voice going deep again.

Sans starts laughing again, “i _ know  _ you are!”

For a moment Chara contemplates all of the things they can do to him, all the punishments and rebuttals they can give. But they calm after a moment of thinking. “Honestly, puppy, it doesn't matter if you believe it was me or Undyne.” They shrug calmly. “The fact is, Frisk is _gone,_ and you **_will_** not ** _speak of them_**.”

Sans trembles in anger as he turns his head away from them, his eyes watering. He’d loved that stupid pacifist with all of what he could of his cold SOUL. And now they're just...gone.

Chara grits their teeth, their arms tightening around their captive to the point where he was uncomfortable to hold, trapping him in their lap. They hope it hurts him. Sans may have called that suicidal little do-gooder his best friend, but they were Chara’s  _ only _ friend. The only one who could see them, who could speak to them. And they had just… vanished… Gone like a light put out. Chara had reset to bring them both back and found their shared body had suddenly become host to only one of them. 

They’re  _ pissed _ . Sans had drudged up things they didn’t like thinking about. And he’d been extremely rude and bratty while doing it.

“Sansy~.” They hum, their lips right beside where his ear would be if he actually had them. “You’ve been  _ very _ rude to me.” They chuckle, not really feeling amused but knowing it adds a certain unsettling note to their actions. “You know, there’s still three quarters of a jar of your brother that’s going to go to waste when I reset. I should wash your naughty mouth out with it.”

“l-leave me alone just  _ leave me alone _ ..!”

“No.” It’s a single word, spoken levelly and calmly.

“i h-hate you…” Sans laughs, the sound broken and borderline hysterical, “i r-really fucking hate you, kid…”

“I know.” Chara murmurs, trying for a soothing tone, “You don’t have to like me. You have to  _ obey _ me.”

Sans puts his face in his hands, trying to pull free from their arms.

“ **_Stay still!_ ** ” Chara barks, making his SOUL give the equivalent of a warning shock, small enough that it barely makes him twitch. 

He clenches his teeth but obeys, his entire body shaking in their vice-like grasp.

“You know, I am being a lot kinder than I could be.” The human mutters. “I've bargained with you, I've given you the chance to sleep and a comfortable place to do so in, I've given you an extremely simple task in exchange for keeping your brother alive. And yet it seems doing so has made you forget exactly what your position is. I suppose I'm going to have to postpone resetting until you learn your lesson.”

“i d-don’t care.”

“And that is exactly my problem.” They stand, still holding him.

He grits his teeth, at least staying slack in their grip, “i d-don’t  _ care _ ...you r-ruined everything...you ruined  _ e-everything _ ..!”

“Haven't you heard?” They grumble, shifting his weight in their arms as they leave their room and head down the hall. “It's what I do.” They can't keep the bitterness out of their tone.

Sans curls up tighter and clutches his jacket, jaw trembling and eye burning weakly behind the closed lid - somehow he’ll get vengeance for the kid. Somehow he’ll pay Chara back for taking away his only friend. Their footsteps echo in the hall as they make their way down the familiar path to the dungeon.

Sans cracks open his eye, and his shoulders slump as he sees where they're headed. 

Chara’s grip tightens incrementally, just in case he gets the idea to struggle.

“...you r-really didn't kill ‘em..?”

“What possible reason would I have to lie to you about it?” The human says blandly, reaching out and opening the large black double doors with one hand and entering. “If I really were happy about it, if I really had killed them, don't you think I would be bragging about it?”

“then where the h-hell did you come from..?”

“After  _ they _ fell Underground,” Chara begins, “They landed on my grave. We weren't entirely sure why or how, but when they woke up, we were… Connected. I couldn't go more than a few feet away from them, and they could hear and see me while nobody else could. So I went with them when they made their way through the Underground. Once we got to the Surface, there wasn't enough magic in the air for me to stay conscious for more than short bursts, but we still talked from time to time.”

“..th-they never mentioned you..”

They push open the door to the torture room from a few days before, entering and shutting the door behind them. “Well of course not. ‘Oh by the way, I'm mentally connected to the ghost of a kid you guys hate’ is hardly good dinner conversation.” They sit him on the table.

“...th-they told me everything, th-though…”

“They did.” Chara agrees, sounding strangely annoyed. “I practically had to beg them not to mention me. Lie down.”

Sans obeys, sniffing, “...i j..i j-just miss ‘em..”

Chara says nothing at first, pulling the straps over him and attaching them to the other side. “You're not the only one.”

He falls silent, staring at the ceiling with a hard to read expression. 

Chara stands back and watches him for a moment, frowning. They know that he’s unlikely to be very entertaining while obviously grieving, but they can't let his earlier behavior slide. “I still have to punish you, you know.”

Sans gives a miserable nod. 

Chara eyes him a moment before clenching a fist and focusing on the connection from the Bonder. They want to do something a little different… They think of the time they burned their hand cooking and imagine the feeling worsening and  spreading through Sans’s entire body. It’s not the fastest method of making him feel something, but they’ll hopefully get quicker with practice.

Sans starts out whimpering, and then starts panting, crying out and gasping weakly. Eventually he starts screaming, back arching and chest pressing against the restraints. 

_ ‘i deserve this.’ _

Sans shuts his eyes, clenching his teeth and sobbing as the feelings of guilt he had tried so hard to repress start to make themselves known. 

_ ‘i’d made a promise to protect them and now they're fucking  _ **_dead_ ** _ because i wasn't there.’ _

The feeling of being burned alive peters out, and Chara is staring at him.

“...i’m sorry.” He chokes out, staring back at the face that used to belong to his best friend, “i’m so sorry kid…”

“ **_I am not Frisk._ ** ” Chara growls. “We are  _ done _ talking about them.” This time the pain that hits his SOUL is quick and painful, like being doused in ice cold water. Apparently it comes easier when they’re angry. Go figure.

Sans yelps, his torso twisting as he starts trembling, feeling violently cold all of a sudden. “th-they d-deserve to b-be r-rem-membered..!” Sans says through chattering teeth, trying in vain to curl up into himself. 

Chara switches it back to heat, getting back into the groove of making their pet suffer. It’s easier than thinking about things that are lost. “I  _ don’t  _ want to hear it!”

Sans screams, begging them to stop but silencing himself quickly when he reminds himself that he deserves far worse pain than this. 

Chara waits a moment after they stop, watching him pant and wheeze.

“ _ kff _ ...wh-why did you s-stop…?”

“Because I'm waiting for you to apologize. Properly.”

“th-that’s n-not  _ enough _ ..”

Chara’s eyes widen in realization. Shit. What the hell are they supposed to do now,  _ deny _ him punishment? “ **_Get over yourself, mutt_ ** . **_You really think it's your fucking fault somebody that moronic little goody two shoes trusted snapped and whacked them_ ** ? **_It's not your fault you weren't right fucking next to them. WHAT THE HELL COULD YOU HAVE EVEN DONE, YOU USELESS FUCK?!_ ** ”

_ “i don't know but i should have been there!” _ Sans screams, tears leaking from his socket as he clenches his jaw, his chest rising and falling rapidly, “but i b-broke my promise i b-broke another f-fucking promise a-and now they’re  _ dead _ …”

“ **_NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU, YOU WORTHLESS MUTT!_ ** ” Chara screeches.

“ _ i don’t fucking matter _ !”

“No. You  **_don’t_ ** .” Chara kneels on the ground, lifting a familiar jar from under the table, cracking it open, and dumping it on him.

Sans cries out, twisting his torso and shaking his head as much as he can to get the dust off, “d-don’t you know a-anything about m-monster f-funerals…”

“Well you may not be the thing he loved the most, but I'm pretty sure that violence isn't a tangible object. Besides,  _ you _ loved  _ him _ . Supposedly.” 

“he  _ h-hated  _ me th….i’m the w-worst th-thing y-you c-could’ve picked…”

“Why do you think I did it?”

“t-to b-be cruel..”

“No shit. I meant why do you think I chose you, idiot.” Chara raises an eyebrow. “If you're unhappy, I could always reload and feed it to you instead?”

Sans shakes his head, sniffing and looking increasingly miserable. 

“That's what I thought.” They turn to go.

“d-don’t leave me down h-here..!”

“Naughty pets don't get to sleep in their beds.” Chara said calmly, not even turning. 

Sans swears under his breath, pulling weakly at the restraints for a moment before giving up. He swallows, trying to hold back tears for a second but then letting himself cry when he realizes there’s no point in holding onto his dignity. “k-kid...i-i’m s-so sorry…” He whispers, throat tensing, “i’m s-so sorry…”

“I’ll be back in the morning. We’ll see if we can't teach you some new tricks, Sansy~.” 

He shuts his eyes, curling up his fists and turning his head away.  _ ‘my fault my fault my fault…’ _

“The proper response is, ‘Yes, boss.’” Chara snaps, turning in the doorway to glare at him. 

“y-y-yes b-b-boss…”

They nod and slam the door shut behind them with a final  _ click _ .


	7. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans begins to learn his place. Also there may or may not be an appearance by somebody who may or may not be a pacifist. I dunno.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahahahaha! Lucy uploaded chapter 6 before midnight, so I'm technically not posting this early! AAHAHAHAHAHAHA
> 
> *composes self* Hi guys, Insane again! Lucy told me to go to bed and then vanished so instead imma post a chapter because ~~i'm as thirsty for Sora's giant comments as I am Sans suffering~~ I felt like it.

“wh-why do i h-have to k-keep w-waking b-back up…” He sniffs, clenching his fists and trying to dig into the palm of his hand with his fingers, desperate to draw blood.

“Because the body is naturally inclined to force itself to survive no matter how much the mind wants to end it.” A familiar (but oddly deprived of stuttering) sardonic voice drawls. “Also there’s that ‘magic core’ thing that probably has something to do with it.”

“....th-that’s fucking dumb…” 

…

…

Wait.

What?

That voice… Somebody had said something? He looked around wildly, but the room was empty-

And then it wasn't. 

“Okay, that sucked.” The floating form of a small human child with messy brown hair and big green eyes muttered, crossing their arms.

“...k-kid…?”

“Nah, Sans, I’m clearly Toriel.” Frisk rolled their eyes. They knew it was mean and Sans was under a lot of stress, but they’d been keeping themself sane by making snarky commentary while nobody could see or hear them and it wasn't an easy habit to break.

“...g-great timing Sans...wh-what b-better place t-to finally h-have a breakdown..” Sans shuts his eyes again, sniffing.

It takes Frisk a minute to realize what had just happened. Sans can  _ see _ them!

And he thought he was crazy. Of course he did. Stars dammit. Why could they never catch a freaking break? “Sans, seriously? I'm right here. Not a hallucination. Just dead.” Fucking Chara. Why the hell did they have to be so afraid of death? Sans and the rest of their friends would still be on the Surface having a nice life if Chara hadn't reset. That was the whole reason  _ Frisk _ hadn't!

“...y-yeah, sure…” Sans opens his eyes again in spite of his disbelief, watching Frisk’s semi-transparent face, “...i-it’s good to see you, k-kid…”

“You think you're crazy, don’t you?” They mutter, their form settling onto the table beside him.

“h-heh...yeah p..p-pretty much..”

Frisk sighs. They aren't willing to get upset with him after what they'd just had to witness. They'd been screaming and crying and carrying on for hours, ever since they read alongside Sans exactly what that little thread did to his SOUL, but neither of them had so much as twitched. Frisk has no idea what had changed, but isn't willing to look a gift horse in the mouth. “It's okay if you don't believe it’s me.” They sigh again, lying ‘on’ the table beside him. They can't touch anything, but if they lay still enough it's almost like they're doing so. “But I don't blame you for me dying. It wasn't your fault. Please, don't feel guilty…”

“...wh...wh-what happened…?”

“Alphys found out about the resets. I don't know how. I wasn't there. She sent Undyne to get me. She wanted to… Well, you know her. She wants to run  _ tests. _ I wasn't going anywhere  **_near_ ** that lab.” Frisk shuddered. “I've seen the shit she calls science. Undyne and I argued. Then it turned into a FIGHT. And then… Well, I was dead. Of course. I can't take Undyne. And so I decided I wouldn't reset. I went through a lot of bullshit to get you guys to the Surface, I wasn't about to give that up.” They shut their eyes, moving a little closer to Sans. “Chara was afraid. They realized I either wouldn't or couldn't reset and did it themself. But, I think them resetting using my body messed up our SOULS, because I was suddenly the incorporeal ghost while Chara had my body. The only difference was that  _ they _ couldn't see  _ me _ .”

“a-and you don’t know wh-why..”

“I don't.”

“o-or why  _ i  _ can s-see you..” In spite of how he’s talking, it’s obvious he still finds their existence to be his own fabrication.

“Well, no.” They mutter. “A few minutes ago neither of you could see me.”

“...maybe i’m crazier th-than them..” Sans starts laughing hysterically at the thought.

Frisk sighs. “Will you feel better if I leave?”

“ _ no _ !” Sans strains to sit up, suddenly looking frantic, “n-no no i d-don’t care if you’re r-real or n-not p-please don’t leave, kid, d-don’t leave me don’t l-leave-!”

“Shhh, shh! I’m sorry, please calm down!” Frisk feels tears spring to their eyes and they try to hold his hand, hug him, something,  _ anything _ to comfort their friend. But they just pass right through his dust-coated bones.

“d-don’t leave…”

“I won’t. Even if you can’t see me I’ll stay right with you. I promise.”

“...i’m s-sorry i didn’t d-do that f-for you…”

“Shhhh.” Frisk coos gently. “You should… try and get some sleep. I don’t think Chara will let up on you tomorrow…”

Sans’s expression twists up into an ugly expression of one trying not to cry as he recognizes the truth in their statement. “f-fucking kid…” He says hoarsely.

Frisk sighs. They don’t really have any response for that. “Goodnight.” 

“...g-goodnight, Frisk…”

When Sans wakes up, they are gone. He looks around, risks calling out their name, but he can’t get his insane mind to dream them back up. He gives up quickly, going slack against the table and shutting his eyes again.

Frisk sits ‘on’  the edge of the table, head in their hands. Seems whatever had allowed him to see them had run out.

The door slams open and Chara sweeps in, looking well-rested. Their hair is still wet from their shower, and Sans is acutely aware he’s still covered in Papyrus’s dust. He coughs as their dramatic entrance stirs up some wind, and a bit of the powder is inhaled.

“Good morning, pet~” Chara hums, coming right up to him.

“ _ khk _ !” Sans spits out the last of the dust, groaning and turning his head away as he gives a grudging ‘mornin’’.

Chara clicks their fingers, and a crushing cold envelopes his SOUL. 

Immediately he screams, panting and shivering violently even after the cold departs, “wh-what’d i d-d-do w-w-wrong?!”

“‘Good morning, Boss’.” Chara says in a lecturer’s tone. “Try again.”

“...g-good morning, B-Boss..”

“Good boy.” Chara nods, a smirk playing on their lips. “Today we’ll start your training. I was hoping to wait until after the reset, but it's clear you need a firmer hand before I can.”

“y-you’re r-really s-sticking w-with this p-pet theme, h-huh…?”

They click their fingers again. This time the feeling matches the electrocution, and Sans certainly didn’t miss  _ that _ . He screams and convulses, but it doesn't last long. “ _ gah _ ! wh-what this time?!”

“Address. Me. Properly.” Their tone is calm and level, a far cry from the anger in their eyes. “It should not be that difficult a concept to grasp.”

Sans feels sweat dripping down the side of his head and grimaces, shutting his eyes, “..s-sorry Boss…”

Chara nods. “I am going to let you off the table. You will get on your hands and knees on the floor.”

“...y-yes Boss..”

They unlatch the straps, stepping back. Chara knows better than to think the obedience will last. He’ll get angry again sooner or later or he’ll fuck up, and they’ll have to knock him back into line.

The question is how far they can push.

Slowly he gets off the table and onto his knees on the ground, balling his fists up into his lap and glaring at the floor.

Chara growls. “Ten seconds.”

He practically slams his palms against the ground, his shoulders trembling as he tries to keep his seething under control, “ _ yes _ , Boss.” He growls back.

They can’t push him very far at all, it seems. They snap once more, this time introducing heat. Their punishments are simple, sure, but effective, “Watch your tone, mutt!” 

Sans appropriately yelps, clawing at his chest and falling to his side, squeezing his eyes shut and panting, “ _ fuck _ ...s-sorry, Boss…” Again, this is hardly anything that Papyrus hadn’t put him through before. Even with his brother it had always taken Sans several tries before he could force enough meekness into his tone.

“Follow me.” The human says in a clipped tone, turning and walking out of the dungeon room.

Sans shifts his jaw, scraping his fingers against the floor before slowly crawling after them, keeping his teeth clenched so tightly he nearly bites them in half.

“Are you hungry, pet?” They ask, not even glancing at him.

“no, Boss.”

“Liar.” Chara snaps their fingers once again, going back to the cold. It’s always fun watching him shiver.

_ “gah _ !” Sans collapses as his shaking arms fail to hold him. He swears he can even see his breath as he draws his knees in, trembling violently.

“Try again. Are you hungry, pet?”

“...sure Boss.” Sans pants, picking himself back up and wincing as he does so. His stomach gives a treacherous growl a second later anyway.

“That’s what I thought.” They push open another door, holding it open so he can crawl inside.

The room’s been set up so that there are what look like gym mats covering the floor, except for where there is a dog kennel against the back wall and a table in the corner with several items that Chara had to search out sitting atop. Oddly enough, they’d found quite a few in Papyrus’s shed. A silver dog dish, a studded red collar (the non magic-suppression variety), and a paper bag of kibble being most prominent, though there were other items as well.

“...not that hungry.” Sans mutters upon spying the dog food. His stomach disagrees with another loud grumble. 

“Bad pets don’t get people food.” Chara ‘explains’ in the tone of somebody speaking to a slow child.

Sans just growls, unconscious of his contribution to the title.

“You’ll eat it or you won’t eat anything… For three months. I  _ will _ postpone resetting that long.”

Sans sits back on his knees, running his hands down his face and digging his fingers into the bone of his skull, groaning.

“I will also punish you for being uncooperative.”

Sans groans again and falls to his face on the floor. He knows he’s basically throwing a low energy tantrum but he doesn’t care.

“Pick  **_now._ ** ” Chara spits, kicking him in the side.

_ “owfuck _ !” Sans rolls away from them, holding his arms over his stomach,  _ “fine _ , Boss!”

“Fine, Boss  _ what _ ? I cannot read your mind, pet.”

“ _ i don’t know whatever you’re kickin’ me over for _ !”

Chara snaps their fingers, imagining Sans’s soul as a pincushion. He claws at his chest again, breathing heavily and shutting his eyes tightly as he feels a repeated stabbing sensation. He wheezes, turning onto his back and scratching at his ribcage.

Chara lets the sensation continue. “Right now, you look exactly like a mindless animal, scratching and whining at something that makes you uncomfortable.” They sound amused.

“th-that’s...e-exactly wh...wh-what’s happenin’ Boss..” Sans chokes out, wiping sweat from his forehead and drawing in his knees, “gh..”

“Now are you going to eat your breakfast, or do I have to make you do your training on an empty belly?” Chara asks lowly, their eyes watching as he continues to try and dig at his SOUL. 

“c-can’t...absorb th..that…” Sans wheezes.

“Have you ever tried it?”

“i-it’s not m..monster...f-food...Boss..!”

“What the hell do you think the Aggravating Dog and those Snowdin Guards eat?!” 

_ “i don’t know Boss they ate at Grillby’s just like i did _ !” Sans starts shouting as the pain gets worse, his entire body shaking.

Chara takes a deep breath, adding heat to the metaphorical needles as they stomp over, rip open the bag, and dump some of the ‘food’ into the dish. He starts screaming in pain, and then,  _ “Frisk kid help please!”  _ He yells out, reaching for an unseen figure.

Chara goes very still. “I thought I told you to  **_stop talking about them!_ ** ”

Frisk abruptly realizes they are visible again and cries, “Sans please don’t make them angry, _I can’t do anything_! I **_want_** to but I can’t touch anything!” 

“p-please please y-you don’t know h-how much this h-hurts wh-what do i s-say you g-gotta know please…!”

“Apologize, stop arguing, and don’t talk to me!” Frisk whimpers, the words tumbling over one another. They’re two seconds from breaking down crying.

Sans nods, sucking in a breath and struggling to talk past the pain, “B-Boss i-i’m sorry i’m s-so sorry p-please m-make it s-stop i m-messed up i-i’m an i-idiot i-i’ll stop arguing p-please i-i’m sorry Boss i-i’m  _ sorry _ ..!”

Chara pauses, glaring down at him. “And?”

Oh fuck what was the formula...what was the fucking formula?! “i f...i-i’m sorry i a-argued, i’m s-sorry i m-mentioned them, i th...i-i-i’m k-kinda h-hallucinating….i w-won’t do it a-again..” That’s not right that’s not right  _ that’s not right _ -

“What you did wrong, why you did it, why you shouldn’t have, apologize.” The apparition of the kid says softly.

“w-wait wait i g...o-okay...okay i argued, i m..i mentioned them...i argued b-because i’m a fucking bone-headed idiot, i mentioned th-them because i’m h-hallucinating, i sh-shouldn’t have b…” He shifts his jaw, clenching his fists, “...because it’s n-not my place to argue, y-you told me not to, a-and i’m sorry, B-Boss…”

The pain stops instantly.

Sans groans in relief, slumping limply to the floor and letting go of his death grip on his t-shirt, “f-fuck..”

“Now beg for your breakfast.”

“....p-please let me eat, Boss..”

Chara doesn't look all that impressed.

“... _ please _ l-let me eat…?” 

The hallucination of Frisk sits in the air beside him, frowning over at him.

“You don’t sound like you want it.” Chara says dryly.

“...well...”

“I know you don’t want to do this Sans…” Frisk murmurs softly, “but I really,  _ really  _ don’t want to watch you be hurt--”

“When I tell you to beg, I expect you to put effort into it.” Chara says, raising their hand, fingers poised to snap.

Sans flinches, putting his forehead to the ground, “p-please let me h-have breakfast, Boss, i-i’m really hungry a-and i want to eat,  _ please _ …”

“Much better. Not quite there, but better.”

“...so can i eat now, Boss..?”

“Didn't I _just_ say you weren't quite there yet?” Chara growls.

Sans sits back, putting his face in his hands and swallowing, “i c-can’t do this…”

Chara snaps again, the pins and needles starting to return. “Are you certain you want to go this route, pet? Surely it would be easier to just do as you are told.”

“i-it’s n-not  _ easy _ Boss it's n-not easy t-to j-just l-let myself go this l-low…”

“You’ll do it or you'll be punished.” They add more pain to emphasize their point.

Sans cries out, curling over himself and whimpering, “ _ please stop it's too much Chara _ !”

It only gets worse. He screams, clutching at his chest and sobbing as the pain intensifies, getting more unbearable until he’s begging them to stop, barely coherent through his crying.

“All I want to hear is ‘I’m sorry, Boss, I'll do better.’” Chara scolds, letting up just a tiny bit. “And then?  _ You do better. _ ”

_ Can  _ he do better? He doesn’t think he can. Sans whimpers, gasping and clawing at the floor. His face feels soaked. “M..M-MERCY…” He chokes out.

“Only when you obey!” Chara snaps.

“c-can’t..!”

“It's not that hard! It's six words!”

“i-it’s n-never g-gonna be  _ e-enough _ !” Sans chokes out, curling up his fists, “s-six words th-then s-seven th-then f-fifty th-then i c-can’t talk at  _ a-all _ and i  _ know this game i’ve seen it and i don't want it to be me _ !”

“Too fucking bad.” 

Sans breathes heavily through his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to bear it.  _ ‘i can’t do this i can’t do this i can’t do this i  _ **_can’t do this i can’t i can’t i can’t_ ** ’

“Sans please…” Frisk whimpers. They're crying now, unable to handle what they're watching but incapable of helping. They don't even know if he can still see them. They just know they can't watch this anymore.

Sans whimpers, “i’m s-sorry kid..” He whispers, “i c-can’t do it…”

Chara hisses, getting impatient. They crank up the pain again. “‘I'm sorry. Boss. I'll. Do. Better.’” They grind out, standing over him.

All they get is screaming. 

They expected that, so they lessen it to a more manageable level to allow him to speak. “Try again.”

“gff..hhf..i’m..s..i’m s..s-sorry...B-Boss…” Sans wheezes, struggling to catch his breath.

“And?”

“i’ll do b-better…” Sans’s fingers dig into his sternum, scraping at the bone, “p-please please make it  _ stop _ !”

Chara smiles and stops the sensation. “Was that so hard, pet?” They ask. Without giving him a chance to answer, they command, “Now, once more, beg for breakfast.”

Sans rolls onto his stomach, wincing at the sharp aches in his bones as he braces himself up on shaking arms, “pl..p-please l-lemme eat B-Boss l-lemme eat i n-need to h-heal i g...p-please i’m g-gonna pass out…” He’s barely holding back tears, unable to stop them from forming but not wanting to let them fall.

Frisk chokes out a sob as Chara looks indecisive.

Sans winces at the sound, “ _ please _ …”

“I suppose. I'll expect you to get it right the first time next time.” Chara says lowly, walking over and dropping the dog dish in front of him.

He doesn't have to ask to know what's expected of him. 

Sans lowers his head, “...d..d-don’t l-look, kid..” He whispers before crawling forward and eating straight from the dish, choking down the tasteless pieces of dog food and trying to block out the sounds of Frisk’s crying. 

Chara hums approvingly, wondering if they can make him feel happy or comforted with the same method as pain. If they could condition him to enjoy being praised, this would be much easier. They focus on a more soothing warmth than a painful heat as they say, “Good boy.”

Sans immediately stiffens, growing tense and ducking his head in, bracing himself for pain, “what’d i do what’d i do  _ what’d i do _ ?!”

But it doesn't hurt. 

… It actually feels kind of…. 

Nice?

Still he doesn’t relax, not trusting it for a second.

“See, it's better when you do as you're told.” Chara coos, kneeling down to pet him while he eats.

He freezes up under their hand, his breath hitching and his shoulders drawing in.

“Shh… It doesn't hurt, see?”

_ ‘yet.’ _ Sans still doesn’t move.

“Keep eating, pet.” Chara says calmly.

He obeys quickly, but every time Chara so much as shifts their seat he flinches violently.

Still, they don't hurt him. It's important to establish that in his mind-- if he’s good, they won't hurt him. The whole point of this training is to teach him what they expect. Of course at the moment it doesn’t seem to be sinking in. 

When he nearly knocks over the food bowl flinching away from them when they try to pet him again, their temper breaks for a moment.

“ _ Sans _ .” They snap. “Calm the fuck down.”

Seemingly unaware of how to do that, Sans tries holding his breath instead.

Chara grinds their teeth. They can't lose control, they can't lose control, this will never work if they can't keep from hurting him when he’s afraid of them but behaving well otherwise. 

Sans manages to finish the last of the food, and immediately scoots himself away from them, bracing his back against the wall and struggling to keep his breathing steady. He’s failing miserably.

Chara crosses their arms. “Come.” They order.

Sans winces, recoiling a moment but then slowly crawling towards them, his entire body trembling.

“Good boy.” They reward him with more pets and another soothing burst of warmth in his SOUL.

He stays still, shaking violently in place and breathing through his teeth.

Chara rolls their eyes but concedes defeat for the moment. They probably went too far with the pain, but they weren't exactly able to back down. “Are you tired, Sansy?”

“y-y-y-y-yes B-B-Boss..”

Chara picks him up. “Alright.” 

“ _ no i-i-i m-mean n-no i-i-i’m f-fine i d-don’t h-have t-ohgodohgodohgodohgod- _ !”

“I'm going to keep touching you, Sans.” Chara says levelly. “You need to get used to it.” They carry him across the room to the kennel. 

“you asked m-me if i was t-tired i told the truth i t-told the t-truth wh-what else w-was i s-supposed to s-say..”

“Nothing. You did what you were supposed to.” They soothe, opening the cage door and nudging him out of their arms and towards it.

Sans collapses onto the hard grate floor inside, trembling, “so i can sleep, right, Boss? you'll let me sleep? m-more than just a few minutes, right? Boss?”

“Say, ‘please may I sleep, Boss?’”

“p...p-please may i s-sleep B-Boss…”

“Good boy.” Another pulse of pleasant warmth accompanies their words, and they nod. “Yes, I will let you sleep.” They glance at their watch. “It it three o’clock pm. I will be back at eight am tomorrow.” They look back at him and he's already unconscious. 

Of course he is. They roll their eyes, lock up the cage, and tromp out the door. 

Frisk floats through the cage and lays an inch above the hard grate, cuddling so close to Sans small bits of him are phasing through them. They promised to stay with him, and they'll keep that promise.


	8. You're a Dog, Don't You Get It Yet?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bark no bite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went in and fixed the chapter title, because _seriously_ , Lucy? XD

He wakes up about an hour before Chara's promised return time. It doesn't take his anxiety long to become acutely aware of how tiny the kennel is. Sans curls up and bites down on his knuckles to refrain from grabbing at the cage walls, knowing it'll likely get him in trouble. 

“Sans? Can you hear me?” The voice comes from right beside him.

He opens one eye, sitting up with some form of dignity in spite of the cramped space and looking at Frisk’s ghostly form, “..y..yeah…”

“I'm so sorry.” They whimper.

“...th...n-none of this is your fault…”

“I got you in more trouble!”

“F-Frisk, no, i...i-i called out to you, that w..that w-was my s-stupid mistake, you d-didn’t do anything…”

The little human sighed, curling closer even if they couldn’t touch him.

“...don’t you dare b-blame yourself for none of this, okay..?”

“... Alright, Sans.”

“....i’m...i’m sorry you had to s-see me like...like that…” Sans lays back down, scraping at the floor of the kennel. 

Frisk scoffs. “If I'm not allowed to blame myself, you aren't either, y’hear?”

“...i wanted you to think i was strong.” Sans rubs at his cheek, where Chara slapped him, and clenches his jaw, “...wanted you to think your dunkle was more than just bark. heh...well…” He shuts his eyes, and his arm drops back to his side, “...now you know.”

The kid frowns, once again attempting to touch him, laying a hand over his back. It doesn't work, of course. “You never needed to be tough, Sans. You just had to be… Well, you. Infuriating, mostly. Always trying to prank me and swindle me out of my allowance…” Their face lights up with a soft smile. “Remember that time you tried to sell me an umbrella that was poked full of holes?”

“that was an antique. Queen of Switzerland. i told ya.” In spite of his mumbling tone, there’s a small smile on his face.

“And how exactly did an umbrella owned by the Queen of Switzerland end up under Mt. Ebott? Does Switzerland even have a monarchy?” Frisk giggled. “And don't even get me started on the joy buzzer.”

“i was misled by the title. i was a hundred percent convinced that it’d make you happy.”

“Uh-huh. And I'm secretly a butterfly.” 

“heh...still gotcha good..”

“There  _ was _ that time I filled all your mustard bottles with ketchup…”

“that was fuckin’ cruel, kiddo. i’m proud but i’m also still mad.” He jokes.

“You thought it was Papyrus that did it for like two weeks.”

“his sense of humor was still budding.”

“Then you blamed Undyne.” Frisk’s eyes dim slightly.

Sans goes silent, and then gives a quiet growl, tensing his fists, “that  _ bitch _ …”

“So you believe me? Or are you just humoring me?” Frisk asks bluntly, green eyes boring into him in that way that they have to make him feel like his SOUL is on display. 

“...i...i w-wanna believe you…” Sans says honestly, “i...but why only...wh-why would i only b-be seeing you j-just now..? a-and when i’m at my lowest?” He gives a humorless chuckle and shakes his head, “y-you gotta admit that...th-that seems k-kinda suspicious..”

“You know I broke into your lab once.” Frisk says abruptly. “The very first timeline. I was… Curious. You were so closed off… I wanted to know more about you. I wanted to be your friend.” They laugh softly. “I didn't find jack shit. Just a weird-ass machine and nothing else.” They lean into him, partly phasing through. “Then you actually gave me the key to your room, which had the key to the lab inside. And when I went in this time… The machine was still there… But there was a picture of us, too.” Frisk sighs. “I  _ cried _ , Sans. I was so  _ happy _ . I never had a place I belonged before. I never had anyone to take care of me, I always had to take care of myself.” They move their bangs out of their eyes. “You're the best damn dunkle a weirdo like me could ask for.”

“...i wish i could agree w-with you, kid…”

“It’s okay… I know it’s hard, Sans.” Frisk murmurs. 

The lock turned with a click. Sans stiffens, and then starts trembling.

“Shhh…” Frisk tries to soothe, as Chara enters.

“n-no...no nononono…”

“Good morning, pet~.” Chara hums, walking up to his cage.

_ “Say good morning back.” _

“...g-good morning B-Boss…”

Chara smiles. “That’s a good boy.” Once again, he feels that artificial pleasure hum in his SOUL.

For once he actually relaxes at the sensation, his wide eyes closing slightly, “..mph..”

Chara giggles. “Feeling a little better this morning, Sansy?”

“...y-yes Boss..”

“That’s good, because we have a lot to get done today since you were so uncooperative yesterday.”

“...s-sorry…”

“You’d better be.” They say, kneeling down to unlock the cage. “Come on out, puppy~.”

“...can you p-please just call m-me Sans…?” He asks as he drags himself out, rolling back his shoulders and rubbing at the sore bones with a wince.

“I will call you what I like,  _ mutt _ .” They growl.

Sans flinches, falling silent again.

Chara rolls their eyes and walks over to the table, picking up the dog food and collar. The pet dish is refilled, and they nudge it closer with their shoe. “Ask nicely for breakfast, you don’t have to beg today.”

He gives a sigh of relief, “can i please have breakfast Boss?”

“Go ahead.”

Sans hesitates, but crawls forward, taking in a shaky breath before lowering his head and forcing down more of the dry pellets. His stomach growls as he eats, longing for real food.

This stuff has less magic in it than Temmie Flakes.

“Behave yourself today and I might let you have people food for dinner.”

“...o-okay...o-only ‘might’....?”

Chara raises an eyebrow. “We will see. Now come here so I can put this on you.” They hold up the collar.

Sans shifts his jaw, looking away from the illusion of Frisk and crawling up towards them.

He has to keep reminding himself not to panic and that it’s clearly a normal pet collar, not a shock collar, as they put it around his neck and fasten it. There’s no lock. He grimaces when he pulls back and hears a quiet ringing, “...really..a bell..?”

“I think it’s cute~.” 

“it’s not my color.” Sans says flatly.

Chara simply raises an eyebrow. “You don’t like the red?”

“...a joke. i was trying to make a joke.”

“Ah. Your sense of ‘humor’ at play.” They roll their eyes. “Now, I think it’s worth noting that I will only tell you things once. I expect you to  _ remember _ what I want you to do.”

“...uhm...o-okay, Boss…”

“Good.” They say, then raise a finger to point down at the floor in the center of the room. “Go there, and sit.” 

He squints, but obeys, shuffling across the rubbery mats spread over the ground and sitting down at the designated spot.

“Wrong.” Chara snaps their fingers and a lance of cold shoots through him.

Sans cries out, curling up and shivering violently, “wh-wh-wh-what did i d-d-do w-w-wrong?!”

“You’re a dog.  _ Sit like it _ .”

Swearing under his breath, Sans forces himself onto his haunches, bending his knees and placing his palms on the ground between his feet, “wh..wh-what, like...l-like this..?”

“Much better.” They say, walking around him in a circle to look at his position.

Sans squirms under their stare, keeping his head down and refusing to look at Frisk. He’s almost regretting making them promise to never leave - he doesn’t want them seeing him like this.

They point to another spot. “Sit.” 

He considers disobeying, but catches a glimpse of Frisk watching him desperately and mouthing a ‘please’. Groaning silently, he sighs and complies with the order.

The things he does to keep that kid from crying…

He’s put through his paces for several more commands, being forced to crawl back and forth across the floor, hold positions for several minutes, and being punished several more times for ‘screwing up’. He’s sore and tired after hours of being forced to ‘come’, ‘go lay down’, ‘sit and stay’, ‘plead’ and several other  _ tricks _ .

“B-Boss p-please, i n...i n-need a break…” He pants, his shaking arms barely holding him up, “p-please..”

“Plead.” 

Sans swallows, sitting back and putting his hands up at his waist, staying limp at the wrists, “...please..”

“Good boy.” Another burst of false pleasure accompanies their words as per usual. “Yes, I think we can be done for the day.” The human had sat on the table at some point, so they hop down, grasping the leash. “Come.” 

He grunts at the tug to his neck, crawling after them at a weary pace.

They lead him all the way back to the dungeon entrance, panting and even more sore from having to climb all those stairs on his hands and knees. Then back down several hallways to Chara’s bedroom once again. He immediately crawls up to the dog bed and collapses.

“You don’t want dinner, Sansy~?”

“n-no thank y-you, Boss…”

“Why not?” 

“‘m r-really tired, Boss..”

Chara stares at him for a moment, then nods. “Go to sleep, puppy.”

He obeys in less than a second.

Chara thinks today was productive. Hopefully at this time tomorrow they can finally reset. If not, they weren’t really  _ losing _ anything. Sans still has no idea of the scope of their plans. He probably hasn’t even taken time to think about what they are up to.

  
That's fine by them, though. With a grin, they slip under their own blankets and go to sleep. 


	9. Breaking Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans attempts to assert some authority.  
> Chara reminds him that he has none.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all my fault, folks. The next few chapters may as well all be called 'INSANE'S KINK CORNER'.
> 
> Trash Mom is sorry
> 
> ~~No I'm not~~

Sans wakes up to the sound of his own stomach, groaning and rolling over onto his back. His SOUL feels icky...probably from being forced to absorb dog food. Ugh. It doesn’t help that he’s still covered in Papyrus’s dust, and he can occasionally feel it between his bones when he moves.

He sits up in the dog bed, looking around. Chara is still sound asleep, and Frisk is nowhere to be seen. His chest seizes up a little at that. Sans swallows, telling himself to relax. He considers sneaking off and trying to get himself a shower but only succeeds in making himself laugh out loud.

Yeah, Chara would  _ love  _ that. Just another perfect opportunity to torture him.

The noise wakes the human up and they look down at him blearily.

“...don’t mind me.” He mutters when he senses their stare.

“Well, you did wake me up.” They yawn, rubbing their eyes.

“...can i get a shower, Boss?”

“Nope.” They say with a grin.

“...i guess you’re gonna RESET soon anyway.” He mumbles, brushing out the dust from his rib cage and sighing.

“I will give you a bath, however.” They continue, either not hearing him or not caring he’d spoken. “It would be terribly irresponsible of me to fail at ensuring my pet is clean and healthy.”

Sans stiffens, “i can clean myself.”

“Now what kind of owner would I be if I let my silly puppy be alone in the water?” Chara asks innocently, but there is a dangerous glint in their eyes.

**_“no.”_ **

Their entire body stiffens. “Did you just tell me ‘no’, Sans?”

“y-you’re not f-fucking ‘bathing’ me i’m d-drawing the l-line r-right there that’s j-just f-fucked up..”

“You. Do. Not. Tell. Me. No.” The human hisses, leaping off of their bed to loom over him. They’re absolutely furious, and their face is doing that annoying melting thing again but they don’t fucking care. They’re entirely too pissed.

“k...k-kid c’mon th-that’s m-m-messed u-up…” Sans whispers, crawling back away from them.

The leash is still attached to his collar, Chara not having bothered to remove it when Sans simply collapsed into his bed. They snatch it up wordlessly and roughly drag him out of the bedroom once again.

“ _ ngh _ ! n-no! no nonononononono-!”

“Shut up!” They snap, kicking him along. “Every time I think you’re ready to start behaving, you turn around and throw that into my face! Well no more, Sans! I’ll make absolute certain your good and broken before I even think about resetting again!”

Sans cries out as he’s roughly shoved along, feeling his HP drop but refuse to deplete due to the bracelet still lodged between his radius and ulna. He grits his teeth, keeping up as much of a glare as he can manage. Even Papyrus never went this far with hurting him or humiliating him. 

They open the door to the dungeon and shove him down the stairs, laughing sadistically. Sans feels his ankle twist as it catches on the ledge of one of the steps and he screams, crying out as he hits the floor and struggling to breathe in steadily,  _ “gah _ ! ngh! g-go to  _ hell _ !” 

“I told you, my little puppy. We're already there!” They cackle as they stomp down after him. He won't be disrespectful for much longer. They sweep past him, still giggling, and enter the tool room.

Sans pushes himself up to his hands and knees, panting and flinching when he sees the outline of a familiar pair of brown tennis shoes, “...kid. leave.” He says under his breath.

“... No.” Frisk says softly. “I saw what they're getting. I'm not… I can't let you go through this by yourself…”

“i’m not gonna let you watch this happen to me!” Sans chokes out, sockets burning, “get the  _ fuck out _ .  **_now_ ** .”

The hallucination squeaks, eyes tearing up, and shoots through a wall.

Sans drops back to his face, breath hitching as he fights to keep from crying himself.

Chara comes back into the hall, and before he can even turn towards them, they're swinging the axe they've retrieved from the tool room. It connects just below his left knee, cleanly cutting the bone. 

It takes him a moment.

He stares up at the ceiling in shock, his throat frozen and his eyes wide open. Eventually he sucks in a breath, and his body begins registering that there’s something fairly important missing.

Then he starts screaming.

He’s not aware Chara is shoving something into his mouth until they clamp his jaw shut around some kind of bit and fasten straps around the back of his skull. Trying to open his jaw back up results in small barbs digging into his jawbone. He goes limp immediately, breathing heavily through his teeth and sobbing.

The axe raises again, and his other lower leg meets the same fate. The way his screaming echoes around the prison sends a chill through Chara that puts a wide grin on their face. It’s muffled and muted due to the muzzle, but they can see bone marrow leaking out from under it, joining the rapidly growing puddle on the floor. They’ll have to treat those legs before putting him back in his kennel for the day, or the mess will be ridiculous.

Eventually Sans stops writhing and just goes still, the loss of blood weakening his already weak body to the point beyond exhaustion.

Chara picks up his limp form and carries him back to the room with the table so they can treat him. There are bandages and the like on a shelf in the back, because it's no fun to have a toy die-- Dust can't suffer. 

They bandage him up, drop him off into his kennel, and head upstairs. Three days should be sufficient time alone. Maybe they can track down some of Azzy and their video games.

 

_ ‘come back come back come back…’ _

If it were possible he would be screaming their name, sobbing out apologies even though he still feels justified in telling them to leave. He knows, somewhere in what rational part of his mind that’s clinging to life, that they  _ will  _ come back, because that’s what Frisk is like. Reliable. Loyal. Won’t go the fuck away for real no matter how many times you scream at them to.

He knows that from experiences. And Sans is grateful that he can have such faith in  _ somebody  _ because hell knows he can’t have faith in himself right now. 

And come back they do, going right through the wall and the bars as if they don’t exist to wrap him in arms he can’t feel and murmur soothing, meaningless, comforting nonsense. Sans tries to lean into their touch, his sobbing growing more miserable when he phases right through them and his cries getting louder. He tries to hug them back, choking and struggling to breathe through the muzzle and his crying.

In desperation, trying to find  _ some _ way to help him, Frisk reaches through him to try and touch his SOUL.

For the first time in years, their fingers actually hit something solid.

Sans gives a strangled gasp, jolting but then relaxing. He clutches his hand over his chest, doing what he can to give a semblance of holding their hand.

Frisk can’t help it. They pull the red-string-wrapped heart out of his ribcage, right through his clothing, and hug it close to them. “Shhhh… It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay… I’m here, I’m here, I’m here....”

Gradually his breathing steadies out and he closes his eyes, swallowing and nodding his head. It’s okay...it’s okay it’s going to be okay…

“Shh…” They hum softly, sitting beside him. They wish they’d tried this sooner, though it hadn’t worked when they had tried to touch  _ Chara’s _ SOUL, many, many times.

Maybe it’s because he’s reaching for them, too.

Sans’s shaking hands rise, and he signs ‘They cut off my legs.’

Frisk freezes. 

He tugs up his shorts so they can see the bandages, as if scared they won’t believe him. ‘Did you know they were going to do that?’

“I-I knew they were going to do  _ something _ w-with that axe!” They stammer, staring in undisguised horror at the stumps of Sans’s legs and clutching his SOUL just a little tighter.

He covers the injuries up again with his shorts at the unmasked horror on Frisk’s face, ‘I didn’t know they’d hurt me that bad.’

“I didn’t either….” 

Sans is quiet for a minute, and starts trembling, ‘What if it gets worse?’

Frisk takes a shaky breath. “I-I don’t know, Sans… I just don’t know…”

‘I just didn’t want them to bathe me like a fucking animal that’s it that’s  _ it _ …’ His hands are shaking badly.

“I know…” 

‘Don’t be there when it happens okay I just wanna keep some of my privacy kid you can give me some more therapy after but don’t...be in the room. Okay?’

“If that will make you feel better.” They both know Chara will insist on doing it.

‘Loads.’

“I love you.” They say, softly, as though they’re afraid he’ll reject it.

Sans sighs, laying his head down again and curling up, ‘I love you too kid.’

“Do… Do you believe it’s me now?” Frisk asks, even more softly. They’re still holding his SOUL, even though they know they should put it back.

Sans nods, ‘I missed you, Frisk.’

They smile, lying just above the floor beside him. They return his SOUL to his chest but don't move from their spot. 

They don't know when Chara will be back, but it's not going to be pretty.


	10. Submit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's all much easier when you behave."

 

‘I’m hungry.’ Sans whine-signs for the millionth time in the hour, rolling onto his back and groaning loudly.

“Hi hungry. I'm Frisk.” The human can't help but roll their eyes. They have sympathy, but they can't do a thing about it. “I think that, next time, no matter how tired you are, you should eat when it's offered.”

‘I didn’t think they were gonna try and get me naked. Not even Papyrus violated my privacy that much.’

Frisk can't help it. They snicker softly. “You're a skeleton, dude. Chara and I have seen naked skeletons many, many times.”

‘I don’t want them touching me! Think what you want you’d still be a liar if you said you wouldn’t be at all uncomfortable if Paps and I just started walking around naked. We’re not biology class models!’

“Once I walked in on Paps in the shower.” They muse. “He was wearing his armor. He couldn't figure out why I was rolling on the floor laughing, he legit thought he broke me. He called Toriel, from the bathroom, going “LADY ASGORE, I THINK I BROKE THE HUMAN!””

‘Yeah he doesn't like being without it.’ Is all Sans says in response. 

The lock rather suddenly turns and both their heads whip towards the door. Sans drops his hands and shuts his eyes, swallowing tightly and trying to brace himself for the worst. 

Chara enters, eyeing him. “Did you learn your lesson, Sansy? Are you going to tell me no again?”

He shakes his head. 

They let him out and attach the lead. “Bath time, then~.”

Are they seriously still expecting him to crawl? 

_ ‘well they're not expecting you to fly, pal.’ _

Sans braces his hands against the floor and drags himself out, wincing as his stumps scrape against the gym mats. It hurts. Badly. The only thing that would be worse is if he actually had to put his weight on them.

“Faster.” Chara orders, tugging the leash.

He tries. He really does.

But the pain coupled with the lack of proper food or rest makes him collapse a few feet after their command.

They sigh and pick him up. He goes limp in their arms, not having much other choice.

Chara carries him all the way back to their bedroom. Sans looks longingly at the dog bed, craving a soft surface after three long days. 

“No, Sansy.” Chara scolds, kicking open the bathroom door. “You just had three days where you could sleep whenever you want.”

Because that was really easy when your stomach was growling and your sliced legs were screaming in agony. 

Sans just turns his eyes back to his lap. 

Chara sits him down on the toilet while they turn to the bathtub. “Take your clothes off. The muzzle stays on until you’ve done that.”

Sans gives Frisk a pointed look.

The human floats through the wall with a silent wave goodbye.

Sans sighs, slowly sliding out of his jacket and putting it off to the side where it wouldn't get damp, and shedding his t-shirt right after. He still hesitates with his shorts.

Chara hears the rustling of cloth stop early and, without looking away from the filling bath, chides, “ _ Now _ , Sans.”

Grimacing, Sans slowly pulls down the blood-stained article, hissing whenever the fabric touches the separation wounds and curling over himself as the black material hits the tile. Oh God what's water going to feel like? He shudders in dread to think. 

Chara grabs a box of some kind of powder from on the sink. Sans recognizes the logo-- it's from the clinic in Waterfall. They toss some into the water, then turn to Sans. They freeze for just a second. 

“You… Have a tail?” They burst into laughter.

Sans rolls his eyes and looks away, shrugging tightly and crossing his arms. Big deal. Lots of monsters have them. Why is it whenever someone finds out they have to either laugh at or coo over it? It's stupid. 

That's the whole damn reason nobody but Paps knew about the damn thing. 

“Oh stars, that’s perfect!” Chara cackles, beating a fist on the wall. They're laughing so hard they can barely breathe. 

He's half tempted to shove their head under the bath water to help speed the asphyxiation process along. Instead he just gives a growl to get their attention, eyes narrowed sharply.

Their expression darkens and he quickly points to the near-overflowing bath as an excuse.

They turn the water off and then reach over to undo the gag first, then reach down, uncomfortably close to his bare pelvis, and start undoing his bandages. 

“...are y-” He launches into a coughing fit for a few seconds, his voice unused to talking, “a-are you gonna h-heal me, Boss?”

“So long as you don't give me trouble, you can eat after your bath.” They say calmly, discarding the blood-soaked cloth and lifting him in their arms again.

“yes Boss.” 

They set him in the water. It's lukewarm. He shivers anyway. 

By some miracle, his legs don't hurt.

Chara pulls down the shower head and turns it on, using it to soak him. They don't seem to notice how uncomfortable he is-- the way they are acting is more akin to bathing a nonsentient, as though he’s really nothing more than the pet they keep claiming. They aren't taunting, they're just… Impersonal, as they pour some sweet smelling soap on a sponge and start working over his skull. 

Somehow, it's worse. He feels like an object. Nothing new, in other words.

He supposes they could be coddling him like a frightened puppy, baby talk and all. By comparison maybe it's not so bad. Sans just shuts his eyes and allows himself to relax at the soothing sensation of the dirt, blood, and dust being washed away from his bones.

“See, this isn't so bad.” Chara mutters, now working on his ribs. “Certainly not worth getting the punishment you did, hmm? Don't you wish you'd have just been obedient?” 

“yes Boss.” Sans lowers his eyes passively, avoiding looking at what's left of his legs. Who knows how long he’ll stay like this...

Their hand goes lower. He stiffens but forces himself not to move.

They're done with his pelvis fairly quickly, thank god, but Sans doesn't move until they've cleaned his stumps with surprising care and set the tub to draining. 

They lay out a towel on the floor and lift him onto it, draping another over his shoulders. “I'll go make you some dinner, how does that sound, my little puppy?”

“sounds good Boss.” Sans agrees softly. Anything to keep them happy with him, and he's really hungry anyway. 

“Good!” Chara smiles, picking up Sans’s shirt and shorts and leaving the bathroom. “You can wait in my room if you like, just make sure you're dry first.”

“okay Boss.” Just keep being agreeable and obedient, just keep them pleased with how he's behaving, it's not so hard...

They vanish down the hall and Sans realizes they took his clothes with them. He stays where he is on the towel, wrapping the other one around himself.

“Sans? Can I come back yet?” 

“...sure. whatever.” Sans mumbles.

Frisk floats through the wall, squeaking and covering their eyes when they realize he’s still naked.

“what. ‘just a skeleton’.”

“Yeah, but… You were right. It's embarrassing.” They peek through their fingers for a second before covering their eyes again. “And you were the one who didn't want me to see…”

“don’t care anymore.” Sans mumbles, “...can you at least check and see what they’re doin’ with my clothes..?”

“They threw them away in the hall…” 

Sans groans and puts his face in his hands, “ _ why _ …”

“Presumably because they were disgusting and covered in blood.” Frisk shrugs, uncovering their eyes to look him over. 

“...they’re getting me food right now, right?”

“Pretty sure.” Frisk agrees. “I stopped following after a bit so I could come see you, but they were headed to the kitc-” The child abruptly vanishes mid-word.

“...Frisk…?”

He feels a soft, comforting pressure on his SOUL after a second. 

“This fucking sucks…” Frisk mumbles to themself as they pull it from his chest and hold it. “Can't be seen, can't be heard… Fucking hell. Just randomly!” 

“y-you’re still here?” He relaxes, the panic that had been threatening to build up immediately disappearing.

“Promised, didn’t I?” They mutter pointlessly, knowing he can’t hear them.

“s-say somethin’...?” Sans begs, holding his hands over his SOUL. He can sense them...he knows they’re still here but he can’t see or hear.

“I am, bonehead.” They sigh, nuzzling his SOUL with their cheek. “I’m still here.”

Chara’s voice floats in from the bedroom. “Sansy~ Dinner time~.”

Frisk quickly drops his SOUL back into his chest.

Sans takes in a slow breath, wrapping the towel around his waist and emerging from the bathroom. 

Chara watches him crawl out with a smirk. “How are your legs?” 

“short.”

“Well of course, you’ve been  _ defeeted _ .”

He can’t even fake a smile for that.

“I was more concerned with if you were in pain at the moment, Sansy.”

“...that’s kind’ve a given, Boss.”

“Hmm… Maybe I didn’t put enough painkillers in your bathwater?” They muse, walking over to a shelf.

“i’d r-rather just have my legs back.”

“I’m not reloading. You earned your punishment, you have to deal with it until I reset.”

“...you said i could eat after the bath..”

“I did. You don’t really think that’s enough to heal severed bones, do you? That’s permanent damage; the only thing food will do is seal up the wounds.” They say, taking a bottle down from the shelf and placing a couple pills in their hand. They take a different dog dish-- This one red instead of silver-- Full of what looks like dry cereal, and set the pills on top, placing the bowl on the floor beside ‘his’ bed.

Sans says nothing, dragging himself forward and hesitating, “...i  _ can  _ eat, right, Boss?”

“I’ve told you what I expect. Get it right or be punished.” Chara says.

“....may i please eat, Boss.”

“Go ahead.” The human waves their hand. It’s not quite right but it’s close enough that they don’t care, they just want him in the habit of asking nicely for things he wants. 

Sans falls to his meal without further hesitation, too hungry to care about what Frisk might be thinking if they’re still watching.

They are, of course, but they understand completely. If he asks later, they’ll probably tell him they weren’t.

It’s not much but Sans isn’t in the mood to beg, and so he refrains from asking for more when he finishes the offered food. He sits back, murmuring a ‘thanks Boss’ and rubbing at his thighs, wincing.

“You’re welcome, Sansy!” Chara beams, plopping onto their bed. “Now come!” They pat the space beside them.

“...i can’t, Boss. i can’t.” 

“Figure it out.” They snap.

“Boss, please…”

“You haven’t even  _ tried _ !”

“pick me up, please?”

“If you’re really not even willing to try… Beg to come up and cuddle.”

“can i please come up and c…” Sans’s expression contorts. “...snrk..c... _ pftaaha _ , no, no i can’t s-say…” Sans sits back, putting his hand over his face and laughing, “that’s such a s-stupid f-fucking word..”

Chara raises their hand, fingers poised to snap.

His smile drops instantly, “can i please come up and cuddle Boss.”

They lower their hand, but clearly are dissatisfied.

Sans groans, “ _ please  _ can i come up and cuddle, Boss.”

“You need to try harder. When I tell you to beg, I expect you to  **_beg_ ** , not just ask nicely.” 

Sans rests his head against the side of the bed, falling silent as he toys fretfully with the bracelet in his arm. “...okay, Boss.”

“Now try again.”

_ ‘why is it so hard why is it so so so so hard i hate this i hate you i hate me already why are you making it  _ **_worse_ ** _ …’ _

Sans takes in a deep breath, bracing a hand over his sternum, “...i n-need a second..” Something feels wrong.

 

“You have sixty.”

Sans nods, swallowing and trying to work past the gross, squirming sensation in his chest. It feels unnaturally tense. He coughs, trying to relieve the tension and only making it worse. He grunts, curling forward over himself and shutting his eyes, “gh..”

A soft, comforting pressure surrounds the little inverted heart in his ribcage. It doesn’t move, but the little hands holding it are gentle and comforting. The pained expression on his face fades and he sighs, signing out a subtle ‘thanks’ and taking in a breath. He feels soothed, but he finds it’s still hard to get himself to duck so low as Chara is demanding him to.

_ ‘why? what dignity could i possibly have left?’ _

“Time’s up.”

Sans swallows back his desire to just spit at their face, instead putting his hands up in front of his chest, “...please…” He silently sighs and glances back, his tail snaking free of the towel and wagging weakly, “please can i come up and cuddle Boss? Please?”

Chara giggles. “Okay that was adorable.” They reach down and lift him onto the bed with them.

Sans gives a sigh of relief, clinging to the towel and keeping it around his waist as he lies down, making a noise of contentment at the softness of the mattress.

That doesn’t stop him from yelping in surprise when Chara pulls him so he’s lying half on their lap. All urge to relax immediately fades away and he stays stiffly still.

“Come  _ on _ , it’s not that bad.” They mutter.

“you’re that bad.” Sans corrects in a shaky voice, continuing to be about as comfortable to cuddle as a statue.

With a grumble, Chara forces more relaxing, comforting vibes into his SOUL, trying to get him to calm a bit. Sans goes limp as he’s forced to stop feeling concern for his safety, feeling nearly drunk at the overwhelmingly powerful  _ ‘RELAX’  _ command. “mph…’kay that’s ‘nough…”

To his muted surprise, they actually stop. Sans sighs, groaning and rolling onto his stomach, “mph…’anks…”

They pet his skull. “Feeling a bit better now?”

“mmhm..”

“Are the painkillers kicking in?”

“huh?”

“Do your legs still hurt? I put painkillers into your food.”

“oh. whatlegs.”

“The ones you don't have anymore.” They snicker, continuing to pet him. He leans into the touch, alarming them by giving a purr.

Maybe they overdid the comfort a bit. Amusing, though. “My silly little puppy~. Who do you belong to?” They're much more likely to get an honest answer on his current feelings while he’s in this state.

“hm? why’smatter.” 

“Because I asked you.” 

Sans sighs likes he’s obliging a child. Which is exactly what he’s doing. “‘long to you, Boss.” He mumbles.

“That’s right.” Chara says, adding, “Good boy.” With the customary, if currently redundant, pulse of peace in his soul. “I'll make you another deal, if you like.” 

“‘sn’t really worked out f’rme so far, Boss.” Sans says doubtfully, eyes half-closed.

“If you don't give me any reason to punish you for an entire week, I'll reset after.” 

“...thought you were gonna RESET ‘nyways?”

“I was-- in about a month or more. I was waiting until you were willing to behave. So if you behave better now, you’ll get your legs back sooner.”

“...uhm...t’behonest, i dun really...want you to RESET..”

“Oh? Why not?”

“because ‘m really tired of watchin’ all m’friends die…” Even if they don’t know they’re his friends.

“Oh, Sansy. I don’t plan to kill anyone but Undyne.”

“...Undyne…” Sans suddenly growls violently, his sockets darkening.

“ **_Exactly_ ** .” Chara spits.

“...fine. you can kill her. i don’t care.”

“Not that you'd be able to stop me. But yes.”

“alphys too.” Sans blurts. 

“Hmm?”

“...uh, if you w..if you w-wanna hurt Undyne you should kill Alphys too, right? first..”

Chara tilts their head. “I suppose, but why suggest it?”

“why not?”

“Because Alphys is your friend, is she not?”

“maybe on the surface.” Sans mumbles, “not anymore.”

Chara eyes him for a moment. “If you insist, little puppy, but only if you're good for the whole week.” They gently scratch the back of his skull.

“okay Boss.”

“Good boy.”

“...mhm..”

Chara yawns, lying on their side. They’re comfortable, and it’s very relaxing, just sitting here stroking their pet while he’s not shaking like a leaf. They peek at his face and see that he’s already fallen asleep.

How precious.

They shut their eyes and join him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lucy and I have no more written atm, and she seems to have forgotten that it's her turn, sooooooo


	11. Hard Truths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans needs remedial lessons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LUCY FINALLY TOOK HER TURN GUYS
> 
> THIS CHAPTER WAS FUN TO WRITE

Sans wakes up curled into Chara’s side, one of their arms pinning him to the blankets. He sighs silently, opening his eyes fully and checking around for Frisk.

 

No sign of them. Just an empty room. Great.

So he’s left to contemplate his fate.

Sans has seen this song and dance played out with other weak monsters in the Underground far too many times to not know where this is going. Right now it’s just a small game of ‘sit, stay, play dead’ in an empty room between him and his ‘owner’ but it’ll get worse.

It’ll get  _ so  _ much worse...Chara’s going to demand more and more of him until he’ll be unable to comply. Unable with a fully intact SOUL, that is. 

Sure he already has a fracture or two - there’s a reason Papyrus has such intense control of him. And Sans doesn’t doubt that Chara is aware of the rules for Breakers and their Broken ‘pets’. Neither does he doubt that they’re planning on using those rules to their advantage.

They’ve been pushing him for a reason. Whether they need him to disobey enough in order for them to ‘justify’ their Breaking him, he doesn’t  know. But he knows it’s coming. Chara has enough sway over him already, what with having control of the RESETS and also his SOUL, but if they become his Breaker…

Sans shudders to imagine what they’d be able to make him do.

But he has a plan. He just can’t let Frisk find out, lest they manage to talk him out of it.

The body he’s cuddled up to stirs as he shudders, and red, demonic eyes open to lock on him. Sans freezes under the intense stare, saying nothing.

Chara pushes him away a bit and sits up, yawning. “Morning, Sansy!”

“morning, boss.”

They hop down from the bed, digging through the wardrobe against the wall. Sans can see it’s full of dozens of the same sweater and pants, like a fucking cartoon character’s closet. They select one set via some unknown criteria, and ask, “And how did you sleep, puppy?”

“i slept fine boss.”

They nod in lieu of an answer and toss him his jacket. “Get rid of that towel while I shower.” They enter the bathroom, and the door swings shut behind them.

“where do you want me to put it, boss?”

Their hand pokes out and points at a hamper in the corner. Sans observes it and then drags himself off the bed, unwrapping the towel from  his waist and putting it inside the basket. He tugs his jacket over his shoulders and zips it up, curling up on the dog bed and staring at the floor with a distant expression.

He just needs to be alone. For a promisingly long period of time.

“Why do they have so many sweaters, I'd be boiling…” He hears, and a glance up shows that Frisk is once again visible, their waist and legs sticking out of Chara’s wardrobe door. 

“oh. there you are, kid.”

With a yelp, they tumble backwards. Upside down in the air, their short hair hanging downwards despite their clear contempt for gravity, the human eyes him. “You seem to be in good spirits, Dunkle.”

Sans snorts, “oh really?”

“Well you're not crying and carrying on.” Is it just him, or is their tone a little cool? “And you seemed to have a good night’s sleep. You greeted me fairly chirpily. So forgive me if I assumed you were doing better today.”

“...yeah. doin’ great.” Sans tucks his knees a little closer to his chin, wrapping his arms around his legs.

Frisk stares at him a moment. “You want to be alone right now.” They mutter. “Don’t you?” Without waiting for an answer, they tack on, “That’s fine!” and vanish.

And now the kid is mad at him too. Great.

_ ‘probably disgusted with me, aren’t you, Frisk?’  _ Sans thinks bitterly, giving a forced grin and pressing his forehead to his knees, swallowing,  _ ‘that’s okay. i understand. thanks for sticking with me as long as you did, anyway...sorry i let you down.’  _ He takes in a deep breath, resting a hand over his SOUL. No. Not yet. Not with Chara being as close as they are.

Soon enough, though. 

Chara steps out of the bathroom, fully dressed and humming under their breath. Sans glances up for a second at them but otherwise doesn’t acknowledge them. He considers asking for time to himself, but he knows they’ll just watch him through the cameras, or otherwise linger too closely by.

He has to ‘earn’ some solitary confinement. 

“You want some breakfast, Sansy?” They ask, kicking a toy across the room as they speak. They look bored.

“do i have to beg for it, boss?”

“Yup.”

“then no.”

“Are you sure~? You don’t seem to enjoy going hungry. And you’ll need to get used to begging~.”

“i hate you.”

They laugh. “I know.”

“i don't think you do. see you're trying to train me to be a pet. trying to fill a void someone Unmentionable left in you with me or something. and you forcing me to snuggle up to you by drugging me up with your ‘good dog’ vibes is just hilariously desperate. get me to beg you for pets and attention all you want. in the back of my mind i’m always going to be hating you. no one is going to love you the same way but especially not me.” Their expression is steadily darkening, but he thinks he can push a little more. “and what would  _ Frisk _ think of you now?” 

He was expecting something a bit more violent than them just walking out of the room. Sans sighs and lays his head back down, scratching at his wrist and staring at the wall. He closes his eyes only to reopen them a second later when Chara reappears with the muzzle.

Sans groans as they sit down next to him and fasten it carefully over his head, making sure to keep it tight enough so it doesn’t slip off. They stroke his head, their fingers scraping at the bone. “What the fuck do you know?” They whisper, knuckles turning white as they grab his collar and force his head up, establishing eye contact, “What the  **_fuck_ ** do you know? What makes you think I want love? Or need it? I grew up in this world, Sans, and there’s only one LOVE I need to survive.”

Chara lifts him up by the back of the collar and forces him into their lap, keeping a chokingly tight grip on his neck and forcing his SOUL to stay relaxed as they run their hand up and down his arm. They start pulling off his jacket, and Sans finds himself unable to resist as they continue the hypnotic, calming impulses.

“I don’t need you, Sans. And I don’t need you to like me, either. Forcing you to pretend that you do is just another part of the game. I  _ know  _ you hate me. I really do. I know that you always will, somewhere in your mind. No matter how  **_broken_ ** it’s going to be.” They sigh through their teeth, tossing his jacket aside and stroking his bare arm. Sans finds himself not liking the way they’re running their thumb through his ulna and radius - too much pressure. Not that he can move away from it, of course.

“And I know you’re well aware that you’re not supposed to mention that name. I don’t have to repeat myself on that. You’re  _ trying  _ to make me mad, hm? Not very smart. But you  _ are  _ just a stupid dog. You want to know what Frisk would think of me? Disappointed would be a small word. But what would they think of  _ you _ ?” Chara stands up, dragging him in front of the bedroom mirror and snapping the command  _ ‘sit’ _ at him.

Sans turns his head away from the reflection but they brace their hands on the sides of his skull and force it back.

_ “Look at you _ , you stupid, weak, useless,  _ insignificant _ and  _ pathetic _ little  **_puppy_ ** . Would they even recognize you? Would they even want to call you ‘dunkle’?” Chara sneers, slapping him when he tries to look away again, “Do you think they would run up and hug you and tell you that it’s all going to be okay?  _ No _ , Sans. They would  _ leave _ . They would see what you’ve become and they would  _ leave you alone _ . They’d be  _ ashamed  _ to admit that you were ever even friends. They’d want  _ nothing  _ to do with you. You would  _ disgust them _ . They wouldn’t even blame me for what happened. They’d know that you’ve always been this weak. They tried to pretend to themselves that you were stronger but now there’s no way for them to deny just how  _ pathetic  _ you really and truly are, is there?” Chara grabs his right arm and abruptly yanks it back behind him, twisting it sharply until it snaps.

Sans screams through the muzzle, the spikes digging into his bone as he opens his jaw in spite of his efforts not to.

_ “They would hate you, Sans. I know that they would at least forgive me, but no amount of love could make them still care about you _ !”

_ ‘i know i know i know i know i know i  _ **_know_ ** _ …!’ _

Frisk has already left. They’ve already done everything Chara has predicted. They’ve refused to look him in the eye. They’ve turned their back on him. They’ve been so overwhelmed with shame that they couldn’t even stay in the same fucking room.

Sans shuts his eyes, ducking his head and struggling to hold back tears.

“All  _ you  _ have anymore is  _ me _ , puppy.” Chara says in a mocking coo, kneeling down next to him and forcing him into a hug that puts pressure on his broken arm, stroking the back of his head and digging in their nails, “Everyone in the Underground will revere me once I RESET.  _ You’ll  _ be the laughingstock. I can be a nice owner or a cruel one. I can either keep you cozy and well-fed and happy or I can take you out on walks wearing nothing but your collar and have you do tricks for the crowds. Make you beg and bark and wag your stupid little tail until nobody remembers when you could talk. Is that what you want, puppy? To make me mad?”

Sans shakes his head, already back to trembling.

“No. I didn’t think so.” Chara laughs, the sound much more biting than usual, and shoves him to the floor, making him land on his damaged bone. They straddle him, grinning down as they reach for his ribcage and draw out his SOUl. “Do you see this, my little pet?” They hold the ball of magic calmly, gently, as though they have a piece of precious porcelain in their hand. “This belongs to  _ me _ , no matter what you do. No matter how many times I RESET, no matter how many people you beg for help, no matter who I choose to be or what I make you do, this is  **_mine_ ** .” They squeeze it, hard. “And you would do well to remember that.”

Sans nods, swallowing and forcing himself to keep eye contact.

Still, their grip tightens. Their nails dig in.

“p‘ls..”

“No. No ‘pleases’, no begging. You  _ wanted _ me mad, right? Well, now you get punished.”

He closes his eyes and sighs. He  _ did _ ask for it.

“I wonder what would happen if I stabbed this…” They murmur, and his eyes snap back open. The human has their knife in hand and are staring at his SOUL, contemplatively.

Sans can’t help it.

He starts laughing.

“Yes, it is a stupid-sounding question, isn’t it?” They say lowly. “One HP, a stab to the SOUL… Seems like an obvious conclusion.” They chuckle. “But magic’s all about  _ intent _ .” The point of their blade barely touches his SOUL. 

_ ‘basically what i wanted, isn’t it? does it matter if it’s them? does anything fucking matter anymore? does the method matter if it’s all to reach the same result?’  _ He starts laughing so hard he’s crying, tears pouring down his face,  _ ‘it’s just a shortcut, isn’t it? right up my fucking alley...it’s so fucking perfect…’ _

“Was this your goal, Sans? Did you want me to Break you, so it would be easier to debase yourself?”

He just laughs harder.

“Well,  **t o o  b a d** .” They set the knife down. “A punishment is  _ not _ getting what you want. And that means…” Their hand snaps out, grasping his other arm and twisting. “You don’t get to do it either.”

His laughter becomes hysterical, and Chara can no longer tell if he’s actually laughing or crying. Or screaming.

Not that it matters. They finish snapping his arm and lift him into the air by the bone and bodily throw him into the far corner.

Sans just curls up, his laughter finally dissolving into crying. His arms remain limp and seemingly useless. He makes no move to harm himself.

They’ll keep an eye on the Bonder, but he should be fine. Punishment over, they leave the room.

Chara’s tired of dealing with him today.

  
  


The nice thing about the Bonder is that Sans can sort of get a sense of distance between himself and Chara. The closer they are, the stronger the pull he feels - the farther, the less. It gives him a good idea of how much time he has.

Considering the strength of the tie there now is between them, he wouldn’t be surprised if they were able to sense what he was up to and put a stop to it. That was why he hadn’t attempted this when they were in the bathroom, or in general only a room or two away.

But he was successful, for once. He made them angry enough to need a long walk. He can sense them getting farther and farther away, until he estimates that they’re somewhere in the middle of Hotland.

No sign of Frisk around, either. Sans wouldn’t be surprised if he never sees them again.

Slowly he draws out his SOUL, holding it in his hands and fighting past the pain of his broken arms. Chara had thought that that would be enough to stop him? Do they know how many times Papyrus has broken his bones and dragged him to work anyway? It’s practically a second hobby, getting his body to function in spite of pain.

Not that Chara hasn’t introduced him to new levels of agony that he hadn’t thought possible for him to survive. 

Gritting his teeth, Sans braces his fingers against the center of the inverted heart and begins to pull.

 

Chara stops halfway down to Waterfall, frowning. Seriously? He was seriously trying this? Despite the distance, they can feel the distress his soul is in as Sans digs his own hands into it. Presumably ignoring his own busted arms. 

They can't let him Break himself, or he’ll be too skittish in general to be conditioned to obey  _ them _ .

So  **_this_ ** was his plan, hmm? Actually rather smart. Basically flipping them a giant middle finger. 

There wasn't enough time for them to go back.

That was okay. They  _ had _ , after all, warned him that the Bonder could be activated from anywhere. They take their anger, the undissipated rage at his earlier comments, the absolute  **fury** that he would  **_dare_ ** defy them so blatantly after their most recent lesson, and then send it down the bond, sharp as the knife stored in their sleeve. 

If he wanted to be broken…

They’d just Split him in two.

 

Sans screams out as he feels their hatred driving its own knife into his SOUL. Sweat pours off his forehead as he grits his teeth and abruptly pushes back. He will  _ not  _ let them break him. He wouldn’t let them have that amount of control. He absorbs the feeling of hatred they send, using it to fuel his own self-loathing and splitting apart his SOUL a little deeper.

_ ‘heh...nice...try...kid…’  _ Sans’s voice echoes inside Chara’s own head, startling them,  _ ‘but...nobody hates me...more than i do…’ _

Not exactly the agonizing pain he’d hoped to be able to inflict on them - but it made sense that a Bonder would only allow so much to travel from his end. Probably stronger monsters than him had tried. But if all he can do is think at them, then that’s more than enough.

It distracted them for half a second.

That’s all he needs to finally Break his SOUL in half.

 

“ _ Sans _ !  _ What the actual fuck are you doing? _ !” The voice shrieks so loudly next to his skull that he nearly drops his SOUL, and Frisk is suddenly  _ right there, _ their own small hands trying to tug it out of his grip.

Sans yelps, cowering away from them and crying out in pain as he huddles back against the wall, sobbing and covering his face. Oh  _ god  _ it hurts…

He had known that having a Split SOUL would be painful but this is....

..it’s far beyond anything he’d predicted.

_ ‘i’m sorry i’m s-sorry i’m sorry i’m sorry _ !’ He mistakes the familiar form and voice for Chara, and all his frantic mind can do is wonder how they’d gotten back so fast.

Frisk stares at the little crack, nearly severing the little white SOUL in two. “Sans…”

He whimpers, his tail tucking itself between his legs and pressing against his stomach as he tries in vain to hide himself against the wall.

Frisk doesn't want to violate the little ball of magic any more than it has been, and so they offer it back, noting that the magic the crack is exuding isn't _quite_ a match for Sans. His is there, yes, but there's more of the other person’s. They'd know that particular magic anywhere, actually, because it's a match for _them_.

He Fractured himself.

But Chara managed to be the one to Split him.


	12. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans's Split has consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Insane here, copy-pasting because Lucy hates doing it. :)
> 
> So here's Lucy's explanations on SOUL Damage.
> 
> "*rubs hands* Alright everybody get ready Lucy is about to world-build  
> OKAY so the stages of SOUL breaks!  
> There’s regular cracks which any monster can have from a strongly negative emotional event, like Asgore losing Toriel for example  
> Then there’s fractures, like what Sans in Anomaly has right now, which are noticeable breaks from emotional trauma. A SOUL can have more than one Fracture, but too many, and then a SOUL will Split  
> A Split SOUL is broken in half, and the monster will barely be able to function on their own. Most specifically, if they have a Breaker, they will basically be their slave, because they’ll have no courage/will to resist. But they still have enough, shall we say, sentience, to take care of themselves to an extent. Feed themselves, bathe, etc.  
> Now a Shattered SOUL…  
> A Shattered SOUL is completely devoid of all emotion and self will. They are basically zombies. They have to be taken care of in every aspect. If they have a Breaker, then they won’t obey anybody else but their Breaker. Shattering a SOUL is a crime punishable by death. And death is sometimes considered the most merciful thing a Shattered SOUL can receive.  
> *lays down*  
> there u go "
> 
> For those of you confused. :)

Chara stomps into the bedroom to find Sans cowering against a wall. “Come!” They bark without preamble, not caring that his arms are broken and his feet simply  _ gone _ . He didn't have any trouble attempting to split his SOUL, after all, so he should have  _ no issue _ crossing the room. 

Sans immediately throws himself at their feet, heedless of the pain doing so causes, putting his forehead to the ground and shaking badly.  _ ‘they’re mad they’re mad they’re mad they’re mad…’ _

“ _ You're damn right I'm mad. _ ” They hiss, Sans’s distress easily carrying his thought across the newly-opened pathway. “ _ You've been a  _ **_very_ ** _ naughty dog _ .” 

Oh right, they can hear his thoughts now.

_ ‘stupidstupidstupid _ **_stupidSTUPIDSTUPID_ ** _!’ _

“Yes, it was rather idiotic, hmm? I'm waiting for your apology.” 

Sans whimpers,  _ ‘i’msorryi’msorryi’msorryi’msorry..’ _

“ _ Wrong _ !” Chara snaps, kicking him hard enough to send him back a couple feet.

Sans yelps as he hits the wall, cowering,  _ ‘Master I’m so sorry I’m so sorry _ !’ 

“Still.  _ Wrong _ !” Although they did like the ‘Master’ bit.

_ ‘pitypitypitypitypitypitypitypity-!’ _

“Sans.” They say, voice leveling out a bit. “Tell me what you did wrong, why you did it, why you shouldn’t have, and then apologize.”

_ ‘i broke myself i broke myself because i was too scared to let you do it slowly i was a coward i shouldn’t have disobeyed you you told me not to do it and i did it anyway and i’m  _ **_sorry i’m sorry i’m so sorry_ ** _!’ _ Sans is shaking so badly Chara can hear his bones rattling. 

They’re angry, still, but they’re fairly sure the punishment he’d already received will cow him at this point. His little plan backfiring is probably the most poetic justice he could’ve gotten for his defiance. “Come.” They command again, much more calmly.

He crawls back over to their feet, curling up and bracing his head against their feet, hiccuping through his gag and whimpering.

“You're going to be a better puppy for me now, right Sansy?”

_ ‘yes Master i swear i swear i will please please don’t hurt me please…’ _

They bend down to pet his skull in much the same way they had the night before. “Shhhh. If you're good for me, I won't have a reason to hurt you, now will I?”

Sans shakes his head, his trembling dying down just slightly.

“But, you were still a bad puppy today. And where do bad puppies sleep?”

_ ‘....outside…? i...i don’t know...oh…’ _ Sans’s shoulders slump,  _ ‘....the dungeon...on the table…’ _ He starts whimpering again.

“No, Sansy. In the kennel.” They correct, their tone chiding but not too harsh. They're probably going to have to be patient for a while.

_ ‘...oh…’  _ Sans breathes a sigh of relief, pressing his head against their foot,  _ ‘okay.’ _

They reach down and scoop him up, actually being careful of his injuries.

_ ‘owowowowowoowowow…’ _

“Food tomorrow, little puppy. You’ll just have to deal with it until then.” They say firmly, carrying him out of the room and down the hall.

_ ‘o-okay Boss…’ _

They push open the dungeon door and carry him downstairs, and into the ‘training room’.

_ ‘i hate this place…’ _

“Oh?” They ask as they set him inside the cage.

_ ‘...it’s hard to control my thoughts.’ _ Sans looks up at them,  _ ‘...i’m sorry…’ _

“It’s fine, for the moment. The feedback will probably stop soon and you’ll be able to control your sending. Now, good night, Sansy.” 

_ ‘goodnight, Boss…’ _

Chara leaves, and the room is quiet until Frisk slides through the wall and sits ‘on’ the kennel. Sans pretends to not notice that they’re there.

“S-Sans?”

He curls up tighter, hiding his face.

“Sans, I’m sorry…”

“...mph..”

They frown and hop down, kneeling in front of the cage so that he can sign if he wants. Or if he even can. They don’t really know the limits of Split SOULs.

He glances up at them, and then lowers his eyes, turning his head away. Why are they looking at him why are they looking at him why why  _ why  _ do they think he doesn’t understand well enough how much they hate him? Are they here to rub it in? It’s not like them to be so persistently  _ mean _ …

“Sans, please.... I’m sorry… I was having bad morning and I took it out on you but  _ I shouldn’t have left I’m sorry _ ….”

Misplaced self-pity. That's all this is.

Is it supposed to make him feel better?

Sans rolls over. 

He hear a soft sigh. “I’ll… I don’t know. I’ll be around, I guess. If you don’t want me here, I’ll stay away.” 

Sans would sign something but his arms hurt far too much for him to attempt that. So he just stays still, struggling to fall asleep.

Frisk knows they’ve fucked up big time, but they haven’t the slightest idea what to do to fix it. 

Damn.

They wish nobody could see them again… They couldn’t screw things up then. “Bye…” They don’t want to make him more uncomfortable. 

They leave, and Sans feels the room grow that much larger, and himself grow that much smaller.

This is fine. It's no less than he deserves.

 

Chara enters the training room the next day, finding Sans asleep in his cage. Judging from the fitful way he’s sleeping, they guess he’s probably in the midst of a nightmare.

Poor darling. They watch him toss and turn for a few minutes before opening the cage and shaking him awake.

Sans gives a weak cry as he comes to, gasping and struggling to reorient himself.

Not that reality is much better, of course. 

“Good morning, Sansy~!” Chara chirps.

He gives a little wave, immediately wincing and curling up at the pain this causes his broken arm.

They unlock the cage and set his red dog dish from upstairs a few feet away from him. It looks to be full of plain meat, steaming hot and smelling wonderful. They reach into his cage and remove the muzzle. 

“mph.. _ khk _ …” Sans rubs at his aching jaw, wincing, “...m-may i p-please e-eat B-Boss…?”

“Beg first.”

He shifts forward out of the cage, putting his forehead to the ground and then changing his mind and sitting back, putting his hands up by his waist, “p-please Boss m-may i eat? p-please…?”

“Tell me how much you want it.” 

“...’m r-really hungry, a-and it s-smells so good, Boss, i n...i n-n-need it i’m s-so hungry,  _ please _ …”

“What happened to Master?” They wonder aloud, tilting their head theatrically.

Sans lowers his eyes.

“I rather liked that, puppy.”

“...o-okay master…”

“Alright, you may eat.”

Sans gives a sigh of relief and pulls the bowl forward towards himself, taking large mouthfuls of food at a time and gasping as he feels his arms healing.

“Don't eat too fast, you'll make yourself sick.” Chara scolds.

Sans is already swallowing the last bite by the time they finish their sentence and he gives a guilty wince, “i..i c-can’t throw up, i-it’s okay…”

“Alright then.” The human shrugs, pulling his leash out of their inventory. “Come.”

Sans takes a second to lick off his fingers before dragging himself over towards Chara. 

They attach the lead to his collar and walk out of the room at an easy pace, the skeleton crawling behind them. “Sansy, am I going to have to redo the training I've already given you?”

“.....d-did i j-just do s-something wrong, m-master?”

“Not yet. But I'm worried that the trauma of your SOUL Splitting has made you forget things.” Like the formula for apologizing, and the existence of the kennel.

“o-oh…”

“So what do  _ you _ think, little puppy?”

“...i j-just wanna RESET i’m...i w-want my legs back…”

“That's  _ not _ what I asked!” Chara snaps, stopping sharply.

“......n-no..”

“‘No,  _ what _ ?”

“...n-no i d...i d-don’t th-think y-you g-gotta retrain m-me, master…”

“Good.” Chara snaps, tugging harshly on the lead as they begin to ascend the stairwell.

“s-so are you g-gonna RESET master..?”

“Well, I don’t know. Do you deserve it?” Chara mocks. “I  _ did _ say you had to be good all week.”

“...o-oh..”

“And were you?” 

Sans lowers his head, “..n-no..”

“But I suppose you’re welcome to try to convince me.” Chara says brightly, opening the dungeon doors.

Sans pauses at the top, panting, “c-c-can i j...can i h-have a s-second, p-please...m-master…?”

“Whatever.”

Given permission, Sans promptly collapses onto his face.

Chara rolls their eyes and waits a moment.

“...’m sorry…”

“If you want me to reset, I want to hear you  _ beg _ . I want you to tell me how much you want it. I want you to tell me all the things you’ll do to be a good pet for me. I want you to tell me how  _ obedient  _ you’ll be, no matter  _ what _ I ask of you.”

“...i j...i j-just f...i f-feel l-like y-you’re n-not g-g-going to n-no m-matter h-how h-hard i b-beg…”

Chara glares. “Do you really think so little of me,  **mutt** ?”

“n-no...i j-just d-don’t think i-i’m g-good enough…”

“You’re not. But try anyway. Give it your all.”

“...right now? h-here…?”

“What’s wrong with here, puppy?”

“...d-dunno….s-stupid question...i-i’m sorry…”

“I’m waaaaiting~.”

Sans shifts uncomfortably, shivering and rubbing at his bare arms, “...y-you gonna laugh at me…?”

“If I do, it’s no concern of yours. I gave you an order. You obey. That’s how this works.”

“...why...wh-why’s it still so h-hard…”

“Because you haven’t given up yet.” Chara says simply. “You still don’t want to give in. Perhaps I should remind you of your place?”

“..a-a-are y-y-you g-g-gonna h-h-hurt m-me..?”

“If you don’t start obeying this instant, yes.” Their patience is clearly running thin.

“...i…” Sans scratches at the ground, drawing in his shoulders. His tongue keeps freezing up. “...i th...i th-think i n-need to be r-r-reminded..”

They snap their fingers without a word, deciding on the ‘pins and needles’ sensation, since he seemed to really hate that one.

Sans falls onto his side, curling up and scratching restlessly at his chest. He grits his teeth, panting and groaning in pain. 

Chara wants to hear him scream, and so they jump up the intensity.

_ “n-ngh _ ! o-ow ow ow n...n-no i ch...i d-d-didn’t m-mean l-like th-this…!” He cries out, marrow starting to seep out through the deep scratches he’s creating in his arms.

“Then what did you mean, little pet~?”

The pain fades away and Sans pushes himself up on shaking arms, dragging himself over to Chara and nudging his head against their leg, panting and trying not to black out.

“Use your words, Sansy~.”

“..can you pet m…” His eyes roll back and he slumps limp to the floor.

They roll their eyes. Of course he can’t handle much punishment via the Bonder at the moment. They should have thought that through. His SOUL would be sensitive to magic fluctuations for a while. 

That’s okay. There are other ways to punish him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE shout-out to SEGAmew who made some amazing fanart far above the quality I can produce and so they should be lauded . 
> 
> http://segamew.tumblr.com/post/152279878940/based-on-just-our-fallen-hell-by-the-lovely
> 
> Actually, I was a fan of their work a long time ago when I was still only in the Sonic Fandom. I had no idea they were doing Undertale stuff until they commented. And then I screamed. Loud enough to be heard across time. XD


	13. Gentle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara isn't the best owner  
> But they make a try

Sans wakes up in the pet bed, his arms covered in bandages and Chara watching him from their bed. He feigns sleep for a little while longer, practicing in his head what he's going to say to them. He has to get this right.

_ ‘what did they wanna hear...how much i want it...all the...all the things i’ll do to be a good pet for them...how i’ll...i’ll do whatever...whatever they ask me to..’ _

Sans’s breath hitches.

_ ‘...what if they ask me to hurt Papyrus?’ _

“I heard that. I know you're awake.”

“...are y-you gonna...g-gonna make me hurt P-Papyrus…?”

They shrug.

“...c-cause i don't...c-cause i can't..”

“Then you'd better be a good boy, hmm?”

“b-but you can't RESET, then…”

“I don't have any plans to hurt your brother for the foreseeable future. If I change my mind, you will just have to  _ deal with it _ . But, if you  _ behave _ , I won't make  _ you _ hurt him.”

Sans puts his face in his hands, “i c-can’t promise...i c-can’t make a promise to d-do whatever, th-then…”

“You don't seem to get it, Sansy.” Chara says softly, thier voice low and dark. They stand and grab him by the collar, lifting him into the air with ease. “ **_You don't get a choice_ ** .” Their other hand comes up and smacks him across the face. “You don't get to tell me you  **_can't_ ** ! If I tell you to do something--” Chara reaches for his ribs and snaps one like a twig. Then another. “You  **_do_ ** it.” 

“i c-can’t hurt him though..!” Sans chokes out, barely keeping back a panic attack, “i-i’m sorry b-but i can’t..!”

Chara throws him against the wall, watching the skeleton hit it with a muted thud and sinks to the floor, trembling. “I thought we went over this, mutt. You  **_do not tell me no_ ** .” They stalk closer. “Lie on the floor. Facedown!”

Sans whimpers as he complies, squeezing his eyes shut and choking on the urge to start sobbing.

“Your arm. Give it to me.” 

Sans holds up the requested limb, only to have it kicked. “Other arm, you stupid mutt.”

This time they pull out a key from under their shirt and unlock the magic core from his wrist.

“...are y-you gonna k-kill me…?”

“Yup.” They giggle, setting one of their booted feet on the back of his skull. “Ever wonder what it feels like to have your skull crushed?”

“n-no...i-it’s h-happened bef-fore…”

“Aww, that’s too bad.” Chara pouts, putting a portion of their weight on their foot. “You know this is your fault, right Sansy?”

“n-ngh..!” He scratches at the floor, crying out weakly, “i d-deserve i-it i kn-know…”

“And just think, if you had been a good boy I would be petting and coddling you right now. But nope! Sansy wanted to be bad.” A little more weight.

_ “gah _ ! i d-don’t...d-deserve…’g-good’ t-treatment a-anyway..!” 

“Not right now you don’t. I don’t ask for much from you, Sans. But you always fight me! I Split your SOUL and you’re still fighting me! I just want you to behave so I can be a nice owner, but noooooo. Sansy’s gotta be difficult all of the time. Why? What does it get you?”

“i...i w..w-was b-being...h-honest…” Sans wheezes, starting to see spots in his vision, “i can’t...h-hurt...him…”

“Then I’ll just have to kill him if his existence is going to prevent you from being obedient.”

“wh...wh-why are you l-like this…”

“Sansy, your Split is making you forget things again~.”

“...wh-what…?”

“There’s nothing wrong with me, Sweetie.  _ Everyone  _ treats you like this. You’re weak, and the weak exist for the entertainment of the strong. In fact, I’d say I’ve treated you better than anyone else ever has. Especially your brother.”

Sans squints his eyes shut against the pain of his head slowly being flattened under their boot, “n-n-not e-even B-Boss t-treats m-m-me th-this b-bad…”

“I’ve witnessed your ‘boss’ leaving you locked outside in the snow for the night with several broken bones simply because it amused him. Repeatedly. Your memories are all mixed up, puppy.”

“wh-what are you t-trying to d-do..?”

“I’m trying to help you remember, Sansy.”

“p-pretty s-sure i-i-i’d remember s-something l-like that.”

“You didn’t remember your kennel, and that’s a lot more recent.”

“th-that’s- _ ah _ !-th-that’s different..!”

“Poor baby, you’re so confused.” Chara clucks their tongue. “We’ll have to see if your memories clear up after a week or two in solitary.” They press harder.

“a w-w-week-?!”

There’s a solid  _ crack _ and his skull finally splits, a short, pained scream accompanying the death wound before he crumbles away into dust.

 

Sans comes back to himself with a jolt, crying out in pain as his broken arms slam against the sides of his kennel. He’s hungry again.

“o-ow…!” He yelps, laying back down and holding as still as possible, “Ch-Char-a..?” He calls out weakly, already knowing he’s not going to get a response.The human has left him alone to think about his bad behaviour. He shivers, wishing he had his jacket. It’s cold down here.

Even two weeks alone won't be enough, though, to make him willing to hurt his brother. He already knows that. What had Chara been expecting? He'd been Split, not Shattered. In spite of not wanting to, he  _ does _ still care about some things.

..he'll just have to lie next time, he supposes.

He doesn't want them to hurt him again, either. 

And what are they playing at, telling him his brother was more abusive than they were? Surely… Surely they're lying?

Papyrus has only  _ seemed  _ harsher because Sans keeps comparing his behavior to that of when they were on the surface. When he’d had a chance to calm down, to appreciate life and his friends and his brother...back Underground, of course he’s going to go back to being vicious.

Right?

He curls up a bit around his growling stomach. 

It's not exactly… _ easy _ …to think right now.

“...F-Frisk…?”

Nothing, of course. They apologized and he drove them off. Because he’s stupid, and worthless....

He's completely alone.

Sans shuts his eyes and locks his jaw. It's no less than he deserves. 

  
  


Chara slides open the door slowly, humming under their breath. It’s been two weeks of nothing but Mario for them and they _may_ have the theme song stuck in their head.

Sans has, meanwhile, spent more than half of the time being unconscious. 

Unfortunately, he’s not when Chara enters. At the sound of the door opening he curls up tighter.

“Sansy~ Good afternoon. How are you?” 

“..c-..c-c-co..ol..d…” He whispers. 

“Then it’s good thing Master brought you your jacket, hmm?” Chara asks, opening the cage door and gently pulling him out. He clings to them as best he can, and any fear he’s feeling is being drowned out by the heat their body is radiating. With the arm not supporting him, they drape his coat over his bare shoulders.

“th-...th-th-than..anks…” Sans manages to get the word out, leaning on them heavily and struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Sleep.” They grumble, carting him out of the dungeon. “I know I can't have any real fun until you do.” 

“c..an’t…”

“Why  _ not _ ?!” What was wrong with him now?

“d...on’t be...m-mad...please…” The skeleton whines softly, leaning his skull on their collarbone. 

“I am running out of patience, Sans.”

“‘m h-hungry, m-master c-c-can i p-please e-eat i-i’ll b-b-be g-good i s-swear….”

They could've smacked themself. They'd completely forgotten their LOAD would re-break Sans’s arms and leave him not having eaten anything substantial in weeks. 

“Promise you’ll do as I say when you wake up?” They try.

“y-y-yes m-master...p-please i n-n-need f-food..”

“I'll hold you to that.” They say, entering their bedroom and setting him on the floor. “I'll be back.” They turn and sweep out of the room. 

Sans resists all urges to crawl back onto the pet bed that’s waiting for him. He sits himself appropriately and waits, struggling to keep his eyes open. 

It's ten long minutes before Chara returns and the dog dish is in front of him.

“m-m-may i p-please e-eat m-master…” Sans pleads weakly, leaning forward and bracing himself up with his arms as his energy starts ebbing away quickly.

“Go ahead.” Chara sighs, walking over and sitting on the floor in front of their television. “And then sleep.” The game on the screen is unpaused, and an upbeat tune fills the room as they continue where they left off. This isn't really as fun without Asriel beside them, yelling ‘jump’ at the exact wrong moments and fighting over the controller with them…

When they glance over their shoulder, Sans is curled up in the pet bed, tightly hugging his jacket and completely passed out.

Well, at least he’ll be more lively when he wakes up.

 

It ends up being several hours until Sans even stirs. Chara’s beaten the entire game and moved onto the next by the time he actually  _ wakes _ . Sans lifts his head, blinking slowly and looking around with a dazed expression. 

It takes him a moment to register that this isn't his kennel, and he’s warm and not alone.

“mph…?” He rubs at his eyes.

Chara doesn't look away from their game. Sans grips his jacket sleeves, watching their back uncertainly. 

He’s… still craving affection. Especially after such a long time alone. But he can't decide if it's worth giving up the shreds of dignity he has left…

Sans glances around warily, checking for any signs of Frisk before dragging himself over next to Chara and laying down next to them. 

Chara doesn’t acknowledge him, and he frowns slightly, nudging their leg with his forehead. 

Still, their focus remains on the television. He gives a depressed sigh and presses his cheek into the floor. What kind of world is this where he's trying to beg for attention? It's probably just a trap anyway.

After a few moments, though, the urge to be comforted gets to be too much, and he tries again, nudging their arm this time. Not hard enough to disrupt their game-- He doesn’t want them to get  _ angry _ with him, just to throw him a bit of a bone. “m-master?” he tries tentatively.

The music stops as the screen freezes, and Chara looks down at him, raising an eyebrow. “Yes, Sansy?”

“...i..i-i’m up..”

“I can see that. Was there something you wanted?”

“...w-were we g-gonna do anything today…?”

Chara shrugs. “I didn’t really have any plans.” 

“...y-you gonna RESET…?”

“Not yet. You haven’t begged me to.” 

Sans gives a sigh of relief and relaxes a bit, “k-kay…”

“Did you want something else or were you only bothering me to ask stupid questions?”

“j-just the stupid questions th-thing...sorry…”

Chara growls silently under their breath. Why did his courage have to fail at that exact moment? All he had to do was ask for pets. It wasn't  _ hard _ .

Chara rolls their eyes and starts the game back up.

“...i’m g-gonna go back to sleep..” He murmurs, shifting back and curling himself up on the dog bed again. He hugs his jacket with a silent sigh. This will suffice for comfort for now. 

Chara sighs. This is not going to work. “Sans. Come back here.”

Sans stiffens, hesitating before dragging himself back over, “d-did i do something w-wrong..?”

“No.” Chara asserts, setting their controller aside and reaching over, grasping the skeleton under the arms to pull him closer so he’s half-lying in their lap.

In spite of their reassurance he grows tense, breath hitching as he squeezes his eyes shut.

“Come on, Sansy, it’s okay…” They coo sweetly, stroking his head. “Just relax. I’m not gonna hurt you...You’re being a good boy….” 

“i..i-i’m sorry…” Relaxing is a foreign concept - even before he was Split.

“You want another dose of those… how did you call it… ‘good dog vibes’?”

“..o-okay..uh, m..master…”

Chara hums softly, allowing the same feelings of safety and security they’d used the first time to trickle through his SOUL, though at a much lower intensity. Last time he’d been practically high on the feelings they were giving him, this time they only want him less tense.

Sans gradually relaxes, his shaky breathing steadying out slowly. He sighs quietly, no longer flinching when their hand touches him. 

“There you go, Sansy. Isn’t this nice? ” They make sure their hand is gentle as they rub the back of his skull as if he were a kitten.

His leg twitches and he nods, tentatively pressing his head further against their hand. They contentedly continue stroking him.

“You know it could be like this all the time. A full belly, coddles and pets all the time, and a nice warm place to sleep. You wouldn’t have to worry about anything but making me happy. And all you’d have to do is stop being so stubborn and just obey me.” They give him a gentle scratch at the very base of his skull, where it joins his neck. “I want to be a nice owner for you, Sansy.”

“...i w...i j-just want the p-pain and the RESETS t-to stop…” Sans whispers, “i’m t-tired of w-watching everyone d-die, master…”

“I know, I know.” They say softly, allowing him to curl just a bit closer. “Just stop resisting and it'll all be over before you know it.”

“are y..are y-you gonna make me h-hurt my brother…?”

“Your brother has little to nothing to do with my plans, little pet. If he stays out of my way I won't have to hurt him at all. But if he doesn't, I will kill him. You don't need to worry about having to do it yourself.”

“th..that's all i w...w-wanted to h-hear, master…” Sans sighs in relief, sniffing and tucking his arms against his chest. 

Chara nods absently, running a hand over his bare spine. “You're being such a good boy today~.”

Sans shudders, drawing his shoulders in, “ngh..”

“You didn't like that?” They ask, sounding slightly worried as they move their hand back to his skull.

“s-spine is..f-fragile..d-died s-so m..m-many t-times f-from s-someone b-breaking it..” Sans whispers, feeling Chara's gaze as they inspect the number of death scars lining his vertebrae. How many times has he had his back broken over someone's knee? Too many for him to remember, they realize, as the number of scars has passed twelve in their head. 

“Poor Sansy. My apologies. I will not pet you there if you do not enjoy it.”

“i-it’s fine...i-i’ll get used to it…”

“If you are certain.” Chara says dubiously, continuing to rub his head. “This isn't about causing you discomfort, little puppy. Quite the opposite.” 

“i-it’s a-about wh-what  _ you _ w-want, though, i-it always i-is…”

“That is correct-- but right now, what  _ I  _ want is for you to feel happy and comfortable.”

“..o-okay…”

“If I were to get a treat for my puppy, what would he want?” Chara inquires, tilting their head to look down at him.

“...mustard..?”

“If that's what you want~.”

“yes master.”

“Good!” Chara beams, reaching over to lift their game controller and idly restarting it.

Sans closes his eyes, breathing steadily and eventually falling asleep with his head in Chara's lap. 

 

He wakes up alone, in an empty room. The power is off on the television, and the lights are out as well. He can hear crying, soft and hitching. Familiar. 

It takes a moment to locate the specter of the Angel of Monsters, as they’ve curled up atop the canopy of Chara’s bed.

“...Frisk…?” Sans whispers. 

The crying abruptly stops, and Frisk squeaks, flinching further back. “S-sorry, I-I didn’t realize you could s-see me…”

“wh..wh-why’re y-you crying…?”

The human is silent for a moment, then… “You hate me and I deserve it.” Is delivered in a dull, dead tone. Frisk sounds as though they have a head cold.

“..what? no i d...i-i don't blame you f..for anything i...i-i’d have left m-me too, if i could...but wh...why w-would you come back…?”

“I never should’ve left in the first place! I was being a fucking brat!” They snap. “An idiot! I was in a bad mood and I acted like a four year old!” 

“....y...y-you w-were...i m-mean i...i unders-stand, k-kid…”

Frisk mentally cusses. They were too damn late, Chara had obviously fed on his insecurities and made him feel even worse about himself while they were gone. They doubt they can convince him that he didn’t do anything to deserve what they’d done… Frisk hates that they have fucked up so badly, with no way to fix things that they can see.

“....th-thanks for visiting, though…” Sans says, uncomfortable with their long silence.

The child dives through the curtain, coming to a stop a few feet away and throwing their arms around him, despite the inability to touch him. “I’m sorry I left.”

“..i..i-i understand…”

“I know. Still doesn't make it okay.”

“n-no, it..i-it’s fine, Frisk, you...i-i’m just a...a w-w-waste of your t-time, now...e-even more th-than before...i-it’s fine..” Sans swallows, looking down, “...y-you’ve g-got a right to be ashamed…”

“But I'm not, dimwit! I fucking love you.” They say, eyes dark.

“..s-sure..r-right….” Sans shrinks back at their raised tone, bracing his arms against his chest, “o-of c-course...s-sorry…”

“Dammit…” Frisk mutters. “Sorry, Sans… Look, if there's anyone I'm upset with right now it's  _ Chara _ .”

“..th-they’re fine…”

Frisk stares at him for a moment, then groans and does a backflip halfway through the floor. He can hear a muffled yell of frustration. “Why am I so  _ bad  _ at this!?”

“...k..k-kid…? you..you o-okay..?”

“I'm in the floor. I'm dead. My friend is torturing my dad/uncle. Everything I say just makes things worse. I'm  _ peachy _ !”

Sans shrinks back further, “..s-stupid question i’m s-sorry…”

“I'm not mad at you!”

“...i-i’m sorry…” Sans whispers.

Frisk’s head comes out of the floor. “... Sorry, Sans…” 

He stays where he is, looking at the door, “...Ch-Chara…?” He calls weakly.

Frisk frowns. Why is he calling them?

No response. But Frisk seems to have calmed down...still, Sans keeps his arms held up protectively over his SOUL.

The human finally notices exactly why he’s curled so tight around himself and their breath hitches, tears springing to their eyes. They've burnt their bridges so badly with Sans that he’s afraid of them touching his SOUL?

Without hesitation, Frisk throws themself through the floor and hides in the drywall.

Sans relaxes, falling back onto the pet bed and rubbing at his sternum, swallowing. Somewhere in his broken mind he’s screaming at himself for thinking the kid might ever hurt him. But their hands had been on it when Chara had Split it from a distance and he’s having a hard time working past that.

He doesn't really know what to think anymore. 


	14. Good Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UF Sans definitely cares about what other people think of him  
> but especially Papyrus

Chara renters their room to find Sans awake, sitting in his bed and hugging his jacket like a plushie. He looks up at them, murmuring a ‘hello master’ at them.

“Good afternoon, Sansy!” They say, flipping the light switch. “How are you?”

“...i h...i h-had a bad dream…”

“You did? What about?” They ask curiously.

Sans’s tongue freezes, and he turns his head away.

“Sans.” Chara says sternly, crossing their arms.

“..i-i’m n-n-not a-allowed to s-say…”

“Was it about Frisk?”

“y-yes master…”

“Tell me about it. I won't punish you.”

“...they visited….s-said they were s-sorry they left…” Sans curls back up on his bed, watching the floor, “...s-said they didn’t hate me but...th-they kept y-yelling...it f-felt...p-pretty awful…” Sans buries his face in his jacket, “...th-they never yell but..th-they did th-this time…”

Chara blinks, unsure how to respond to that. Frisk actually yelled  _ a lot _ , they knew, but never in front of Sans, or really any monster. They had always felt a lot of pressure about being the monsters’ ‘angel’. 

“......they said th-they were mad at you…”

Despite what they'd said to Sans a few weeks prior, they would not all at be surprised if Frisk was  _ pissed _ at them, wherever they were now. That child could be savage when they wanted to.

“...i t-told them it was f-fine, though, th...th-that i understood… th-that only m-made them m-more upset, i th-think.”

Chara sighs softly, dropping into the floor beside him and patting their lap. Sans crawls into it, curling his tail between his legs and closing his eyes.

“It was just a dream, Sansy. Forget about it. They're gone-- neither of us can really say what they're feeling about us right now, we can only speculate based on how we knew them.” They mutter, petting him.

“y-you were right…” Sans assures in a cracking voice, “...wh-what you s-said to m-me...i-in front of the m-mirror...a-about how th-they’d be asha-amed...y-you’re right…”

Chara nods, not really believing it themself-- they know Frisk too well, probably better than they know themself, to think that they'd possibly be ashamed of Sans lowering himself to this level. It doesn't matter if it's true or not, after all. It only matters that  _ Sans _ believes that's how they’d feel. 

“I tried to tell you, puppy. I tried to be nice about it too. But you didn't want to listen, so I had to be forceful.”

“i know...i kn-know...y-you’re right, master, i’m sorry..”

Chara chuckles. “That's a good boy, Sansy. I knew you'd get it eventually.” The phrase ‘good boy’ is once again accompanied by the safe, happy feelings buzzing through Sans’s SOUL. They hope he'll be a little more receptive to the conditioning now that he’s Split.

“mph…” Sans gives a sigh, and then his jaw rattles, his teeth clicking together rapidly and making a soft purring sound,  _ “krr _ ..”

Chara freezes for just a moment, and then giggles. “Did you just purr at me, Sansy? That was adorable!”

Sans tenses up, feeling a rush of heat to his face, “...i..”

“You're so cute sometimes.” They grin down at him, gently scratching at the base of his skull.

His leg twitches and his protests against the statement die down as a weak gurgle in his throat, “n-nh…”

“You like that? Or no?” 

“............i…” Sans looks away, swallowing, “....y-y’know ‘c-cute’ things get...g-get killed, down here…”

“It's an owner’s job to protect their pet, Sansy. You don't need to worry about that anymore.” Chara says, sounding completely serious for once.

“...i f-feel weak…” Sans’s voice is shaking, “y-y-y’know h-how s-scary i-it is t-t-to f-feel w-weak…?”

“To feel helpless, unable to protect the one person who gives a damn about you, unable to fight back against the people who are crushing one of the few things that make your life worthwhile into dust… To be incapable of fighting back while you watch your only friend die over and over again because they refuse to lift a hand against their attackers… Being forced to watch your brother kill himself because his own  _ stupid _ plan got fouled up…” Chara mutters. “Yes, Sansy. I know how scary it is to feel weak.”

“...............oh…”

“It's okay for you to be weak, Sansy. I'll take care of you.”

“w...wh-when you R-RESET i w-won’t b-be there w-with you…”

“You will immediately teleport to me.” Chara says simply.

“i...i c-c-can’t teleport into the R-Ruins…” Sans explains, “th..th-that’s why i n-never fought you th-there...T-Tori s-sealed it o-off pretty g-good..”

Chara nods slowly. “There is a door, past the sliding ice puzzle your brother is so fond of. It looks just like the door to the Ruins. Can you go in there?”

“...y-you mean th-that cave…?”

“Yes, where the Aggravating Mutt lives.”

“...i c-can stay th-there if you w-want me t-to…”

“Will it be safe?”

“...u-unless Papyrus finds m-me…”

“Do you think he will?”

“...h-he k-kinda t-turns Snowdin ups-side d-down looking f-for me if i d-don’t sh-show up f-for work…” Sans curls up a little tighter, his tail pressing against his stomach as he remembered the look of fury in Papyrus’s eyes whenever he caught him slacking.

“I will not take long to get out of the Ruins, I promise. If he  _ does _ locate you before I signal you to come to me, teleport to the door and let me know with the Bonder.” 

“...y-yes master…”

“But this is all dependent on me resetting, and you've yet to beg for it.” They add, scratching him under the chin. “Silly puppy.” 

“n-not yet...n-not yet, p-please..i-i’m not ready…”

“I know, puppy~.” They nudge him off their lap so they can stand. “I think it's about time we went for a walk. Doesn't that sound fun~?”

Sans nods, sitting back. His expression falls, “...but my feet..”

Chara has already gone digging in their nightstand for the leash. “What about them?” 

“...y..you're gonna make me crawl..” He says, voice growing quieter with the realization. 

They look back at him, confused. “Of course. Puppies always crawl. I thought you’d figured that out, silly~.”

Of course it was obvious. That didn't mean it was going to get through his head until the last second though.

_ ‘what were you expecting? to be treated like a person?’  _ Sans still can't stop the shaking that suddenly comes on as Chara approaches him with the leash. 

“Come on, Sansy. It’s not like I haven’t done this before. We’re just going outside this time, is all. You want to go outside, right? Get a little fresh air?” They say calmly, turning his collar until they can hook the lead to it.

“s-s-sorry…”

“Come on, calm down. It doesn’t hurt. It’s all gonna be okay.” Their voice is as soothing as they can make it.

“...y-yeah...yeah i-i kn-know i kn-know i’m s-sorry..” Sans swallows, “...a...a-are y..y-you going to...t-to m-make me do th-this in f-front of p-people, m-master..?” He chokes out the question that's been haunting him ever since Chara first forced him to his hands and knees. 

Chara know he’s not going to like their answer, and they take a certain pleasure in telling him, “Of course, Sansy~. Unless my puppy decides he wants to be a bad boy and make me angry  _ again _ ?”

He feels his SOUL drop to the pit of his metaphorical stomach, and his sockets turn black, “n-n-n-no m-m-master…”

“No master what? I can’t read your mind, Sansy.” 

“d...d-don’t w-wanna make y-you angry…” He whimpers. 

“I didn’t think so. Come on~.” They give a surprisingly gentle tug on his leash, the bell on his collar chiming merrily, and lead him from the bedroom.

He forces himself to follow, jaw trembling as he watches the ground. They keep a reasonable pace and Sans fixates his mind on the simple task of one limb after the other. He follows them and he stays fucking quiet, not complaining once or putting up any kind of a difficulty. He's perfectly behaved the entire time. 

Chara seems incredibly pleased with him when they make it back to castle, and they stop by the kitchen. They leave him in the hall as they enter and return after a moment, a familiar yellow bottle in hand. Sans can’t find it in himself to be excited at seeing his favorite food; he’s too numb to think about anything. Chara returns to their room long enough to lock Sans inside alone and set the bottle on the bedside table before they vanish back into the hall.

He's disinterested in eating and he doubts he’s currently allowed to have any anyway so he curls himself up into the pet bed, hugging his jacket and hiding his face in the fluffy white fur of the hood. He's tired. He just wants to sleep….

His eyes close and he drifts off into a much worse reality. 

 

_ Sans is shivering, snow falling onto his bare spine and the back of his ribs and pelvis as Chara skips along the path to Snowdin. They seem to be in a good mood. Sans is following at a decent pace, feeling equally happy until he starts noticing the leers of passers-by. His shoulders draw in but he doesn't slow - he just crawls faster so as to be closer to Chara.  _

_ He doesn’t like the stares, but that’s why he’s here. _

_ The human glances down at him for a moment, making certain he’s keeping up in the deep snow.  _

_ He tries to say something but his mouth doesn't cooperate with him. His tongue just lolls out and he pants like a mutt as Chara takes out a bottle of mustard. They don’t let him actually have it, just murmur that he can have some soon if he behaves. He nods in understanding, eyes lingering longer at the sneering faces in the corners of his vision. They’re getting close to the stage set up in the center of town, and there are a lot more people here.  _

_ He can see Papyrus leaning against one of the buildings, watching apathetically. Sans tries to withdraw, to make some effort to cover himself, but his body doesn't move to obey  _ **_him_ ** _ anymore. He just keeps following Chara right up onto the stage platform, feeling sick at the large number of spectators.  _

_ Chara spreads their arms, grinning widely at the crowd. They seem even more pleased at the turnout than he feels frightened. He fights harder and harder with his unresponsive body to try and run away but he can't.  _

_He misses whatever Chara says to the onlookers in his panic, but they get extremely excited by it. His gaze shifts to Papyrus and he feels even more sick at the disgusted glare that greets him._ _  
__“Sans!” Chara’s voice has him snapping to attention._

_ His head turns to Chara and he sits back on his knees, raising his limp hands to his collarbone. His tongue is lolling out again, and, to his horror, he  _ barks _. _

_ The laughter from the crowd makes him feel cold to the core. The cheers of ‘good puppy!’ make him want to tuck his tail away in shame, but it keeps wagging instead, as if only encouraged by the voices of mock praise.  _

_ Chara is still grinning widely as they offer him the nozzle of the bottle and a pat on the head. He hears himself give a disappointed whine after the ‘treat’ is taken away once he’s had a little sip. _

_ “more!” He begs, giving another bark in hopes of earning it that way. Chara whacks him across the face instead.  _

_ “Bad puppy!” _

_ Sans yelps and cowers back, putting his forehead to the ground and whimpering pathetically.  _

_ “Apologize.” Chara snaps, crossing their arms and glaring down at him.  _

_ “i’m s-sorry master f-for speaking w-without p-permission…” _

_ They kick him. “Wrong.” He can hear the crowd jeering, but he’s more focused on his angry owner. _

_ “i d-don’t remember i don't remember master i’m s-sorry…” Only now does his body allow him to tuck his tail between his legs in shame. _

‘help help help help help help help stop stop this let me go  _ let me go _ -!’

_ “Sansy, wake up!”  _

_ Chara kicks him again. The bystanders are howling with laughter.  _

_ Sans covers his head with his hands, cowering away from them and starting to cry, “stop please stop this stop please i can’t do it i can’t do it i can’t do it please stop  _ **_please_ ** _ -!” _

_ “You  _ **_will_ ** _ obey me, mutt!”  _

_ “ _ **_Sans, you're having a nightmare! Wake up!_ ** _ ” _

 

Sans jolts awake, sitting up and screaming.

He doesn’t pause to breathe, feeling his eye burn in spite of the bonder as he cries out, pushing away from Chara at the sight of their face.

“Sans.” They say calmly. He can feel his SOUL buzz with the command to ‘relax’, as Chara sends more of the ‘safe, happy, and warm’ vibes through it. 

His body immediately goes limp but his mind is still frayed, as relaxed as a victim of sleep paralysis, and he keeps crying out ‘no no no no no’ although he gets quieter as his jaw starts going slack against his will.

But now Chara has a moment to take a breath without worrying about him lashing out at them any further, and they take a moment to scoot away from him. Giving him a little bit of space will hopefully help calm him after whatever he saw in his dream, since it most likely dealt with them. “Okay, Sansy. Take a deep breath.” They say softly, going for non-threatening. “In through your nose, out through your mouth, alright?”

He tries to obey. He tries to slow his breathing. But all he can see are those sneering eyes and all he can hear is the laughter and the disgusted growl of his brother and Chara’s voice snarling at him to beg harder, to drag himself lower and lower until there’s no trace of sentient monster even  _ left _ …

Sans starts sobbing even harder.

“Sans… Come on, it's okay… It was just a dream, it's not happening right now.” 

_ “don’t...RESET…!”  _ He chokes out.

“I won't, I won't, just breathe sweetie.” They reassure, at least now having a better idea of what scared him so bad.

“ _ don’t RESET d-don’t e-ever RESET  _ **_i-i’d rather n-never s-see a-anyone e-else ev-ver again th-than let th-them see m-me like this d-don’t RESET DON’T R̷̢͍̗̯̮̤̘̙̳̼̗͚̻̟͎̄̿̐͒͆̆ͨͅͅÉ̡͌͒̾ͧ͒ͫ͊̒̊̈́̚͢͏͉̩̗̯̜̠̳͙̠̹̮̮̳̟̻̲͔̱S̢̘͉̟̻̻̘̞̹̗̓̔ͬ͒͞E̯̞̩̬̳̟̱̬̝͔̿ͨͯ̓̊͌̇͂̍ͤ͌ͪ͐̔ͨ̀̀̕͠͡T̴̶̨̧̛̮͖̬̞̭̳͙͎̙̳͛͒͆́͊͂̐̍̉ͬ̄̅͒ͤ̀͗̐ͥ ̧͎̗̥̱̻̎̆̍̽̆͆ͦ̈̽̎ͥ̄ͨ̄̉̈̅ͧ̕Ḏ̴̴̷̬͓̼̯̖̣̙̤̪͗́ͮͦ͒̒̐̉̃̃ͭ̊̌ͯ͌͘͠ͅǪ̴̸͖̲̟̥̝̾ͯͩͮ̒̃́̒̿ͯ͊́̂̍̒̚͠Ņ̷̷̳̮͚̖͚̰͇̩̘͚̫̋̆ͨ͊̓ͯ͢͡'̸̴̥̹͇̮̺͕ͬ̒ͪͤ͊̃ͩ̌ͬ̌ͦͣ͛́͒T͒̄ͦ̿͐ͬ̾̅͜҉̦̼̞̲̫̼͎͖̩͇̝̫̩͕̮̫͘͡͠ ̵̢̣͕̖͍̭̞̝̞̤͖̬̑ͥ́̈͛̔̐̏̈́ͨ̍̉̈́Ŗ̴͉͙̼̭̞͙͇̰͍̓͆̇͛͘ͅͅͅȆ̵̴̵̡̖̦̟͍̪̑ͫ̾̾S̨̟̥͔͉̟͕̗͐̽ͨ̾ͫͪ̕͞ͅE͖̳̰̜̩̖̥̯̝̲͕͊̑̽ͮ̕͘T̼͙̟̫̪̦͚̓̊̽̅́́_ ** -!”

Oh.  _ Oh.  _

Well. This is… Interesting. Perhaps their threats before he Split himself hit a little too close to home.

Ideas scroll through Chara’s mind, being looked over and discarded at warp speed.

“Shh…” They coo.

The only thing that can ‘shh’ him ends up being him passing out again from over-exertion.

But that's probably for the best, they think. They don't exactly know how to calm him down. 

RESETTING will most likely have to wait a while. A long while. It's an annoying setback.

 

Luckily he sleeps too hard to have any more dreams, but when he wakes up it’s with a gasp, and he’s still shaking and sweating from his previous nightmare. He finds himself already in the corner and curls up tightly, hugging his jacket and choking on a sob as he keeps seeing Papyrus’s disgusted expression clear as day in front of his closed eyes. He can’t RESET...he can’t be a pet he can’t do this not in front of all those faces…

Chara’s nowhere to be seen, but the dog bowl is sitting a few feet away from the pet bed, the mustard bottle and a note sitting next to it. When Chara doesn’t show up in the next few seconds he crawls over and picks up the note, having to set it on the ground to read it as his hands are shaking too bad to hold it.

It just says they'll be gone a few days and to entertain himself.

...what…

_ What _ ?!

They’re just going to  _ leave him here _ ?

Sans finds himself a mix of scared and angry as he crumples up the paper and throws it, shoving himself back in the corner and curling up tightly. How is he supposed to be their pet if they won’t even fucking take care of him? Sans screams into the fabric of his jacket, fingers gripping it tightly as he yells and yells until he burns out his voice, slumping to the ground and trembling violently. He can feel it through the bonder that they’re nowhere nearby…

How can they do this to him? How is he supposed to be fucking dependant on them if he can’t wake up without wondering if they’ll even fucking  _ be there _ ?

Even Papyrus took better care of him than this...he immediately shoves all of Chara’s comments about them being nicer to him away, seeing them for the ridiculous lies that they are, now. No. Papyrus was easily better than them, in every way.

...but he’d still rather never see his brother again than have to crawl in front of him.

Sans’s breathing gradually calms down and his furious crying dissolves to exhausted sniffing. He eyes the mustard bottle and finds himself giving a disgusted shudder and turning away - until that nightmare wears off, he doesn’t want anything to do with that stupid ‘treat’...

Still, he's hungry. He thinks about making his way to the kitchen and nearly throws up at the thought of crawling all that distance. He still hears echoes of the laughter in the back of his head and it won’t  _ fucking shut up _ !

Sans instead covers his face with his jacket and slams his head against the wall until he blacks out from the blunt force trauma.

Turns out the stupid ‘can’t die’ bracelet is actually useful for something. 


	15. Traitor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara is not the forgiving type

Chara knew they shouldn’t have been surprised to find that Sans was still upset when they got back, but they are. He is sprawled in the corner, his bed and the still-full pet dish left abandoned, and is using his jacket as a pillow as he stares blankly at the wall. Damn. They'd hoped a few days away from him would help, after all he'd definitely been terrified of them after his nightmare, but it looks like that had backfired.

He doesn't even acknowledge their return.

They walk up to him and sit on the floor beside him, slowly reaching out to pat him on the head. He flinches violently away, whining loudly and curling tightly into a ball.

The human’s temper flares. They've been ridiculously nice and accommodating the last few days. They've been mindful of his recent Split and allowed him to set the pace of his conditioning. When he was afraid of them, they'd stayed away so he could calm, they'd tried to soothe him after his nightmare.

_And it was getting them nowhere._

They're frustrated. They don't understand why he hasn't bowed to their will fully yet. They'd _Split_ him, for fuck’s sake! That was practically a slave bond, but he was still fighting them at every turn! They are so _bored of waiting_ , it is ridiculous.

Being nice, or as nice as they really could be, wasn't working. So it was time to be mean. _Very_ mean. It was time to pull out something Sans would absolutely _despise_. Heck, they already knew he hated the thing.

It would be too much trauma on his Split to replicate the effects with the Bonder, not to mention the fact that Chara would have to actively make it happen. But they didn't need to fake it when they could just put him back in the shock collar. They'd see how long he'd be a brat when he was back to regular bouts of pain to remind him of his place. And maybe then he'd realize that ‘Nice Master’ is infinitely preferable to ‘Angry Master’. They stand and move away from the tiny ball of bones that is Sans without a word.

Sans can hear them rummaging in their nightstand again. He can hear how angry they are just by the stiffness of their movements. “shock collar again?” He asks, voice cracking.

“How’d you guess~?” They hiss, returning with the familiar circlet, and the damned muzzle once again. “Sit up.”

He obeys, not answering as they're about to mute him again anyways.

Their expression darkens slightly as they remove the collar he currently has on. “I asked you a question, Sansy.”

“..it was an easy guess...i th-thought the question was sarcastic, i’m s-sorry..”

“Do you know why you're being punished?” They say dangerously as they nudge the muzzle’s bit in between his jaws and begin to lace it up, extra tight.

He nods.

They look down at him, locking the old collar around his neck. “Why?”

He stares at them, looking clueless and anxious.

They’re looking steadily more pissed off with every second. “I know you know how to tell me without opening that yap of yours!” They snap, striking him across the face.

Looking more afraid, Sans lifts his hands and starts signing hesitantly.

They hit him again, hard enough to knock him back into the wall. “ _I don't speak that, mutt_!”

Sans cowers back, holding his head and drawing in his knees to his chin.

“ **_The Bonder, you idiot_ **!” Chara snarls, growing exasperated and opening up the link themselves.

 _‘♓_ _❍  ♍♋❒♏♎…’_

“...the fuck..?” Chara shakes their head as if clearing up a broken connection and crouches down, staring harder at him.

‘ _♓̛͕̦̞͇̬̯͉̄̈́ͤ ̶͉̬͚ͬ̄̑͑ͮͪͥ♎͍̻̺͆̽̃̏□͖■̡̦̹͈̳̞ͤ�̞̙͙̞ͤ̑�̺̜̣̬̙̻͔ͭ̈ͬ̽̿⧫̪̙̥̲̾͢ ̜̻̟͉̹̘͠ &̬̭͉̤̣̘ͬͣ͆̒̓̚■̢̥̪̮̈□̙͚̰͖͎͑̏ ♒̙̩̯̅̋̾̄̎̑♋̢̬͉̤̽□̩͖̤̮̓̂ͫ͊̉ͤ̍͞ ♎̵̢͚͎̓͗ͣ̓͂ͥ̚̚□͉͙̝̑͜͡ ̧̨̣̥̯̦̳̤ͭ̽ͅͅ♒̶̮̗͙͕̮ͪ̿͒ͨ̍̈́̽̐͟ ͓̪̾̾ͫ̿͋̅̅̀♏̮̱̫̹̟̹̝͓̠̽̈́̎͗͋̄̏ ͖̻ͥ͋͐̎̐̾ͯ●̴̫̳͔͖͔̽͊ ̟͎̱̦͙͖̱͓ͧͬ͘͡p̨͇͓̰̗̝̬̦ͨ͋ͣͧ̒ͧ́̀̾ ͔̫̣ͮ̀ͮ̈̐ͅ❍̮̥́̅͂͡ ̷̧̘͔͚͖͕̅̄ͭ̃ͬ̓ͣ̊̚͝♏̭̥̏̔̓͛ͨ̒̊̓͑͡ ̷͉ͭ̏͝ ̷̰̺͂ͬ̆̐ͧͤ̏ͪ̽͘□̥̞̣̱̟̬̳͎ͮ͊̅̊̑ͅ ̨̰̜͙̹͈̯̟͈͐̃͌̾̿̈̃ͩ̔❍̯̞͓̪͗ͨ̈́̑ͬ͊̀͝ ̡̗̥̃ͪ̀̀͢♏̵̩͍̲̓ͤͫ̋ͭ̐̏ ̾҉͙̭̮̭̪̻ͅ□͖̯̰̪̥̫̲̱̊̎̅͘ͅ ̴͒҉̣̞͇̬̥̞̬͝■̫͚̲͖̟͎̉ͯͥ̚ ̢͚͖ͫͫ♏̛͆ͦ̊̋͏͎͔̠̖͓̣̻͇ͅ’ _

Against their better judgment, Chara reaches out and touches his temple to further enhance their connection to his thoughts.

**‘̶̸̧̯̘̝̑̂͒̄̆ͣͥ̓̕͟ͅͅ♒̴̴̷̱͓͍̖̪̲̺̮̲̤̮̙̥̞͙̫̬͔̖̎ͩ͌́̚ ̷̢̟̭̱̲̹̘̭̹͖̦̬̤̱̓͆̑͐͆̽̀̅̉̾ͨͦ͛̏̓͌̚ͅ♏̧̥͈͔̺̜̦͎͊ͣͣ̓ͭͧ͆̓͒ͧͪͥ̋̊͘ͅ ̶̅ͬ̾ͥ̓̽͂̎ͭ͊͑͏̢͙̭̤̟̗͖̙͙̥͖̤̘͚̦̺̜̤͝●̵̴̵̩̗͖̥̖͕̭̗̭̠͈͓̫̝͂ͫ́ͫ͢͡ ̸͓͖̥͈̇ͭͥ͛̈́̍͒ͩ̾ͮͯͪ̈́͊̈́̀̚͟pͨ̀̏̅ͣͩ͋̒̀̆͛̿̏ͦ͗ͥ̓͏̸̡̛̦̤̮͕͖̭̜͉͕̖̣̲͙́ͅͅ ̧̪̪̪̗̘͕̭͉̺̯̜̩́̓͂ͥ́̀̎͂̂ͨ̍ͦ͊̅ͬ̏̋̚ ̠͍̲̹̣̹̫̦̩̩̫̳̟̊ͬ͂̓͂͜͢͟͞❍ͯ͌̓̏͏̴̧̺̟̤͕̭͕̤͇̪̗̦͓̰͖̻̹̲͜ͅ ̸̡̛͍̟̺͓̖̪͒͆̓ͦ̽̓ͯͧͯ̅ͫ͑͛͐̔♏̷̢͔̰̭͙̪͇̹̒̒̈͗̎͆ͧ̉̚͢ ̷̃͗͗ͧ́҉̳͚̙͙̝̺̪̯͍̬͕͕͔✏̨̛ͩ̊ͥ͒ͮͮ̉͊̓̄͒ͯ͜҉͉̭͉̟͓͞’̸ͭͤ͛͆̃͂ͬ̂̍ͩ̎ͫͯͧ͡͏͓͙̬͙͉̤̖̭̝͡**

They jerk back, regretting the decision as they hold their own head, suddenly unable to shut off his thoughts.

It was a bad time to remember that Sans was actually someone dangerous.

“ _What the actual fuck?!_ ”

Sans manages to sense their distress and alarm in spite of his own panic attack, and braces his hands over his chest, drawing out his SOUL and grabbing at the red string around it. It physically hurts him but it also shuts off the connection in the process. He keeps a tight hold on it as he curls up tighter, his breathing growing heavier and his head getting lighter as he struggles to breathe enough through the muzzle.

The human reaches out and fumbles with the strap on the front for a moment, then manages to remove the bit from his mouth. Sans gasps in air, falling from his knees onto his side and choking on his own sobs. “s-so-orr-ry!” He manages to cry out in spite of his imminent suffocation. It’s more important to keep Chara from getting any angrier at him than to breathe properly.

Small, warm hands are suddenly grasping his SOUL gently, rubbing soothing circles onto the abused ball of magic. Sans’s eyes open, wide at first, and then half-close, and just like that his breathing is steady again. It feels so nice… The familiar hands don’t have an inkling of intent to harm him, they just want him to feel better.

Chara frowns at Sans’s sudden calm. It doesn’t make sense, just a moment before he’d been freaking out and now he’s practically purring again. And something feels… off.

His eyes close, “th-thanks k-kid…” He whispers as quietly as possible.

Chara still hears it. And now that they look a little closer at Sans’s SOUL, there are tiny shadows being cast upon it, despite the lack of anything to block the light. Hand-shaped shadows.

“...h-heh...l...l-love you t-too..” Sans puts a hand over his mouth as if that can block the urge to cry, his eyes shutting tighter, “...s-sorry..”

It hits Chara like a ton of bricks. They’re _here_ . Right now. Frisk is _here_ . And who knows how long they’ve _been_ here.

And they are _still_ putting Sans over Chara!

He absorbs his SOUL, flinching as he does so. It almost hurts worse to have a Split SOUL inside his chest where it belongs rather than none at all.

“How long have they been here.” Chara growls. Their voice is low and angrier than Sans has heard in a long while.

His eyes open back up, “...wh..wh-what..?”

“Frisk! **_How long have they been here!?_ ** ”

“...i..” Shit had he not been quiet enough? He hadn’t even been entirely sure whether or not he’d been speaking to Frisk out loud at the time, to be honest, his head was so fucked up. “....a...a-a-a while..”

“So you’ve been lying to me for ‘a while’ then?” They spit.

“y...y-y-you w-w-wouldn’t h-h-have b-b-believed m-me and y-y-you t-told m-me n-not to e-even m-mention th-them…”

Chara snatches him up by the collar and drags him towards the bathroom by it. He’s confused but doesn’t fight.

“I don’t care.” They snap. “I don’t _fucking_ care what you thought about if I would believe it or not. I don’t fucking care what _they_ thought. I’m not happy with your bullshit right now, Sans. I’m not happy with their stupid interference in my plans.” They throw him into the tub and turn on the cold water, plugging it. “You need to be punished.”

Sans backs himself away into the corner of the bath and up onto the ledge, breathing hitching, “th-th-they c-c-can’t m-mess a-anything u-up i-it…d-d-don’t be m-mad at th-them th-they’ve b-been t-trying to r-reach you i s-swear th-they have…”

“They’ve been fucking up my training of you!” Chara snaps. “They’ve been comforting you behind my back! And they obviously didn’t try hard enough to contact me if they managed to figure out how to talk to _you_!” The water was going on four inches now.

“i-it’s c-cause of the Bonder-!” Sans tries to explain, though he has no idea if that’s actually the case.

“ **_Bullshit!_ ** ”

Sans yelps as the ice cold water reaches his dangling foot and he tries to withdraw further, instead slipping and splashing into the liquid, “f-fuck..!”

Chara grabs him by the back of the collar and shoves his head under the water. Sans starts fighting, survival instinct overriding his fear of his Breaker as he struggles to breathe, _‘Frisk!’_

“ **_Chara, Chara! Stop! CHARA!_ ** ”

Sans focuses on the connection between himself and Chara through the Bonder and opens it, letting Frisk’s voice channel through.

Chara lets Sans go to clutch at their skull as the Angel of Monster’s frantic shouts rattle though their head. He drags himself out of the tub, collapsing onto his hands and knees on the floor to hack up water, coughing and wheezing heavily.

“YOU LEFT ME!” They shriek at empty air. “YOU LEFT ME AND YOU LET US DIE AND LOSE EVERYTHING FOR NO GOOD REASON!”

Sans covers his head, forcing himself to stay conscious so the connection through his SOUL doesn’t break.

“I DIDN’T WANT THEM TO BE TRAPPED AGAIN!” Frisk screams back.

“I don’t care.” Chara’s smile is unsettling. “I’m done with you. He’s mine now. **_He’s mine and I’m going to keep him so you can’t have him_ **!”

Chara reaches down and tosses him back into the tub. “I didn’t say you could get out.”

“n-no..!” Sans chokes, clawing at the bath edges, “n-no no p-please..!”

“You’ve been a very naughty dog.”

“i’m n-n-not a d-d-d-dog!” Sans chokes, shivering violently at the cold water, “p-please s-stop..!”

“You **_are_ ** a dog, Sans! And the sooner you accept that the easier it will be!”

“ _i don’t want to RESET_ d-d-d-don’t d-d-do th-th-this t-t-to m-m-me p-p-please..!”

“ **_What you want doesn't matter_ **!” They yell, shoving his head back under the water.

His screams are muffled through the cold liquid, and his fighting grows increasingly weaker. It’s so cold it’s so...so cold…

There's a beep, and Chara lets go of him as if he's on fire.

He’s gotten too weak to even pull his head free of the water, and the electrocution freezes up his bones anyway. Bubbles gather at the surface and then slowly die out as Sans goes limp.

Chara pulls him out once the sparks die down. His eyes barely open, and he coughs weakly.

There’s a moment of discontinuity, and then he’s lying on his side, facing the wall. Sans just stares at it, not noticing his own violent shivering or even the clattering of his jaw. What was happening..?

Chara reenters the room. Sans tries to sit up, but ends up flopping back to the ground pathetically.

“Get up.”

He pushes himself up to his hands and knees, arms shaking violently and threatening to collapse under him at any moment. Not from exhaustion - he suspects a reload might have happened, in a desperate move by Chara to get Frisk out of their head - but from fear.

“Come here!” They snap, “and lay on your back.”

Swallowing, Sans obeys, lying down face up with his eyes closed and keeping his arms held over his chest.

Chara straddles him, drawing their knife and holding it over his eye. “If you fight me, I will cut off each and every one of your fingers _one by one_ and make you eat the dust they turn into.” The human snaps, driving the knife into his left eye.

“ _gah_!” His entire body jolts but he slams his arms hard against the ground to keep himself from grabbing at their wrist, instead scratching at the wooden floor and breathing hard through his teeth.

The knife dives in and out until they're sure he can't see out of it, and they move onto the other one.

“o-ow…” Sans closes the bleeding eye, struggling to keep his other socket open as the blade hovers over it, “p-please…”

“No.” Chara hisses. “This is your punishment.” The knife is slammed into the socket.

Sans screams loud enough to make even Chara wince - it’s probably just the room. It’s too small to properly house a scream like that. That and he's screaming right into their face.

Chara gives the blade a good couple of twists and a few extra stabs for good measure. “Can you see anything, doggy?”

Sans shakes his head, hiccupping and sobbing.

“Good. Your dinner is a few feet to your left. Eat it so the bleeding stops.” Sure it had been sitting out for a few days, but Chara hardly cared.

Sans slowly rolls onto his stomach, feeling around until his fingers clink against the metal side of the bowl. He drags it over to himself and eats, choking at the stale taste but desperate to make the pain stop.

Only once he’s eaten and his eyes have healed over as though it has been several weeks does Chara speak again.

“Back to the question that started this mess, Sansy, though I imagine the list is much longer now. Why am I punishing you?”

“i g-g-got a-a-angry...i i-ignored y-you wh-when you c-came h-home i d-d-didn’t w-want to s-speak to you i’m n...i’m n-n-not allowed t-t-to b-b-be upset w-w-with you..”

“You _have_ been being an ungrateful brat, puppy.” Chara agrees darkly. “And why else am I punishing you?”

“...f..f-for Frisk…?”

“Because you _lied_ about Frisk. And because you were being uncooperative with your punishment.”

“i….” What had he been supposed to do? Deny Frisk’s offer of comfort? “...i d-didn’t m-mean to h-hurt you...th-there w-was a r-reason i w-wasn’t l-letting y-y-you into m-my head…”

“And Frisk?!”

“wh-what about th-them..?”

“You will not speak with them again!”

The heartbreak in Sans’s eyes is obvious, “b...b-but…”

“If I find out you are-- _and you know I will_ \-- I will break every single bone you have. I will rip out each and every one of your teeth. I will make you **_wish_ ** that I would parade you about like a show dog!”

“ _master please i can’t lose them again_!”

Chara kicks him. “ **_I lost them and I'm still fucking here, you'll get over it._ ** ”

“i-i-i c-c-can h-help y-y-you t-talk t-t-to th-them..!”

“ **_I don't fucking_ ** want **_to talk to them_ **.”

“ _yes you do_!”

Chara stomps on his spine, pinning him flat to the floor. “ **_I HAVE NO DESIRE TO CONVERSE WITH THAT TRAITOROUS BRAT!_ ** ”

They manage to hear a _crack_ over their screaming, and Sans goes still.

Whoops.

They lift their foot and inspect the damage--it’s a severe crack in several vertebrae. They're going to have to reload to fix this…

But he’s not dead. They can hear him whimpering. But he can't seem to move-- they've probably paralyzed him.

“I could just leave you like this, Sansy. Put your shock collar and muzzle on and leave you in the corner, helpless, for a while. I told you, you will not speak to Frisk anymore. I have no desire to bargain. I do not wish to speak with them. You will not let them touch your SOUL. You will not speak or otherwise communicate with them. You will act as if they don't exist, or I will make your life a living hell. Understood?”

Sans closes his eyes, “...yes master..” He whispers.

“Good. Now I'm going to reload, and then we’re going to take care of your eyes again.”

“yes master.”

They reenter the bedroom after loading, looking straight at the corner where Sans is. He's already lying on his back, staring at the ceiling.

They're a little more precise with the knife this time, no longer motivated by anger but instead a need to dominate, to remind their pet of his place. This is a necessary punishment, they can't simply let him get out of one punishment because they acted in haste with another. They push the food bowl at him afterwards.

Aside from a slight jolt he didn't react to the knife blade. He turns onto his stomach and eats enough to heal over his eyes before stopping and sitting back. He says and does nothing, just waits for his next command.

Instead they pick him up. He stays moderately limp in their arms, holding his head up but not fighting.

“Are you gonna behave?”

“yes master.”

“Are you tired?” He's probably mentally exhausted, at the very least.

“i’m fine master.”

They nod despite his inability to see it and lay him down on their bed anyway. They climb on next to him and attempt to start petting him. He doesn't move. Not to flinch away, not to lean into their hand. He doesn't whine or purr.

They want him to act like Frisk doesn't exist? That's simple.

He just has to give up. He just has to embrace hopelessness and sink back into the depression he'd been in before the kid had come. It was easier this way. He'd only fought because there had been someone to fight for.

They're still there. Sans can't ignore that. But what do they want him to do? All they've ever said to him has been to do what Chara says. So he will.

Chara frowns down at Sans. He’s…like a doll. It's…wrong, almost, to see him like this. He’s not resisting, but not complying either. He's just…existing.

Damn, that kid…

“Stop being so... _apathetic_ you stupid mutt..” Chara growls. They hadn't actually intended for Sans to hear the muttered frustration, but he robotically leans his head against their hand as they continue to pet him.

It's still not right. There's no enjoyment. They clench their other fist.

“What did he have that I didn't…” They mumble, looking around at the air as if Frisk would simply pop out of the wall.

Sans slowly closes his eyes, already rebelliously wishing for the sensation of Frisk’s hands on his SOUL as he falls into a fitful sleep.

Frisk sits cross-legged in the air above him, staring directly at Chara’s face. “He had a SOUL.” They mutter as though Chara actually had the ability to hear.

Sans twitches in his sleep at the sound of their voice.

Rebelliously, they reach into his ribcage and lift out the little heart. Chara makes a noise and reaches for it, but Frisk tumbles backwards, holding it close.

“ **_Why do you love him more than me?!_ ** ”

Sans jolts awake, putting a hand over his empty chest and choking.

“Sans, please make sure they hear what I'm about to say?” Frisk requests calmly, nuzzling his SOUL gently in an attempt to keep him from panicking.

He obeys numbly, opening up the connection and going back to feigning sleep.

“I never loved you any less than him, Chara. He's family. You're my friend. They are… Different kinds of love.” Frisk pushes a lock of hair out of their eyes. “He’s never going to be what you want if you break him completely. You're only going to have an unresponsive automaton, not a _companion._ ” They shake their head. “I do not approve. But I cannot stop you. Yet I wonder if you realize that I'm all he has left, all that's keeping him intact… Do you really want a doll instead of a dog?”

Chara grinds their teeth. “ **_Fine._ ** ” They spit venomously. “I'll share my toy with you. Only cause I put too much work into him to start over…”

Sans immediately holds a hand out to the floating vision of the child, “F-Frisk…!”

The kid swoops forward and sits beside him clutching his SOUL.

“BUT! I'm going to reset. And you have to obey-- no matter _what_ I tell you to do or _who_ I tell you to do it in front of.”

Sans hunches up his shoulders, panicking, “i…”

“You don't get to have it all, mutt.”

“...w...w-won’t th-that be suspicious th-though…?”

“I'm not an idiot, Sans. I know how to make things look legit.” They roll their eyes. “Quit stalling and pick.”

“...F-Frisk…” Sans’s voice cracks, “...i c...i c-can’t do it i c...wh...wh-what’ll th-they th-think wh...wh-what’re th-they gonna say th….i c-can’t..” He turns his head toward where he thinks the kid is, frustration and fear welling up in the form of tears in his eyes.

Chara rolls their eyes but decides to wait out the discussion between the pair. They can only hear one side of it anyway.

“I'll be there with you Sans, I won't leave you again I promise, I swear… But I d-don't… I don't want to watch you shatter like this and we both know you will… And I can't be party to them hurting you for speaking to me either…”

“..that's…” Sans moves his hands, switching to signing, ‘Shatter me.’

“No.” Frisk shakes their head violently, though Sans can't see it, and clutches his SOUL like a frightened child with a teddy. “No, no, no, no! I won't, and I won't let it happen. **_No_ **.”

“i-it’s g-gonna h-happen you know it will!” Sans chokes, “a-and it...i w-want t-to be t-taken c-care of th-they w-won’t...i d-don’t know what th-they’ll d-do to m-me p-please…!”

“ **_I won't let it happen_ ** .” They spit, and he's never heard them so _angry_. “We'll get through it. I will help you.”

“if you care about me at _all_ kid then you'll stop being fucking delusional! you can't do shit to stop them!” Sans suddenly screams, out of habit matching their volume and tone.

He hears a tiny little whimper, and a sniffle.

Chara rolls their eyes again. “I will not be dropping you in the deep end and expecting you to swim, Sans. You will have time to adjust to the idea of being out in public as the dog you are.” The ‘I'll be conditioning you to accept it’ is left unsaid. “To do otherwise would probably shatter your SOUL, and that is a headache I do not wish to deal with.” They sigh slightly. “I will even promise to avoid bringing you to Snowdin until _you_ are ready.”

Sans stares at them blankly and unseeing, as if not comprehending.

They narrow their eyes, not that their puppy can see it. “It is the best you will get from me.”

“...you……” They’re going to be _fair_ about this? “.........really…?”

“I'll swear it on my SOUL if you like, little puppy.”

“...y..i don't h-have to crawl r...right away then…?”

“There does have to be a realistic amount of time from when I first RESET to when you are actually broken as you are now, or people would get suspicious, don't you think?”

“th-that’s what i w-was saying..”

“And I told you I knew how to make it look legit.” Chara shrugs. “And that is done by making it appear to others as though I'm in the process of breaking you-- I.e. Not making you crawl right away.”

Sans gives a sigh of relief and falls back. “oh thank fuck…”

“So are you going to be a good puppy? I'm offering you a lot, you know. The chance to continue fraternizing with the traitor, the concessions I'm making for the RESET…”

“yeah...y-yeah, yes, m..master, yeah…”

“‘Yes master’ _what_?” They'd already gotten the answer they wanted, but they wanted to hear him say it.

“i’ll be a good puppy master.”

“Good boy!” They cheer, giving him pats. Frisk tries to make the humiliation a little more bearable by rubbing his SOUL a bit. They get the feeling they'll be doing that a lot.

“mph...a-ha, okay, uh...k-kinda conditioning…” Sans coughs into his fist.

“I know.” Frisk mutters. “It'll be easier in the long run.”

“You can sleep up here tonight.” Chara says, patting the space beside them.

“thanks master.” Sans cluelessly rolls onto his side, closing his blind eyes and sighing. Chara drags him beside them so they can continue petting him, and Frisk returns his SOUL to his ribcage, though their hand remains on it for a moment before they pull it away.

Sans gives a shaky sigh as he senses their absence - it just got harder to believe that everything is going to be okay.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently there is an error in getting the full chapter to post. Standby
> 
> EDIT: fixed it but at the sacrifice of some wingdings characters


	16. Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only one more hoop to jump...

“I’m still here Sans. I can’t hold it for too long, it starts to burn my hands after a few minutes…” Frisk murmurs from beside his head. Chara is still petting him serenely.

“okay…” He whispers. He doesn't want to disturb Chara’s calm mood by talking to Frisk, even with permission. The human had switched moods at the drop of a hat today, and the last thing he wants is to be drowned in the bathtub again. 

Chara hums under their breath, attempting to send more ‘happy’ vibes over the Bonder. They  _ really _ want him to cuddle with them, but it won't exactly be easy to get him to do it on his own after their tantrums earlier. 

“y...y-you seem happy…” Sans notes.

Chara shrugs, adding a little more comfort to his SOUL. “I'm happy my puppy is finally cooperating.” 

“...i-i’m happy you're n-not mad so..y...yay..”

They giggle softly, scratching at the base of his skull where he seems to like it. “You're cute, Sansy~.”

“....mhm..” 

“I'd suggest you spend tonight thinking of what you're going to say in the morning when you beg me to RESET.” They hum.

Sans sighs quietly, shoulders slumping. It's going to be hard to beg for something he doesn't want. But telling Chara he doesn't want to RESET...well he doesn't know what they'd say. He just knows it isn't an option. It's something they want him to do so he has to do it. 

Chara knows full well he doesn't want to RESET. But they don't care. They want him to beg for it as if it's all he’s ever wanted out of life-- that's what they want from him  _ whenever _ they tell him to beg. Sans just isn’t sure he can get it within the first five tries this time.

It’s probably a very good thing he’s being allowed to have time to think before being expected to do it. If he stays awake and doesn’t sleep for even half a second it might just be enough to get him to prepare enough to get just over the minimum requirement around the eleventh attempt.

He groans quietly and rubs at his face, shoulders slumping.

Frisk hums next to him, a simple tune he recognizes vaguely from one of the cartoons they’d liked to watch on the surface. Gay space rocks or something, he hadn’t really paid attention to their bright, excited explanations. Chara’s breathing evens out beside him, and he relaxes minutely as their hand stills.

“...i miss stupid shit like that..” Sans murmurs, voice nearly inaudible, “...cartoons and stuff, i mean…”

“Me too…” Frisk mumbles. They reach for his SOUL, lifting it into their hands. “I’m sorry…”

“...you don’t have to hold it..” Sans keeps his eyes closed as he talks, “...i know it hurts…”

“But I want to. It’s all I can do for you, so I’m going to do it until I can’t handle it anymore.”

“i could keep fighting Chara, if you’re gonna be like that...i can get myself hurt, trying to get you back.”

“ **_Don’t_ ** .” They grumble. “Don’t go there, Sans. It doesn’t hurt at first. I promise I’ll put it back when it starts to hurt me so long as you promise not to do anything stupid, okay?”

“yeah.”

“Okay.” He can hear their sigh of relief, and they rub circles on his SOUL. “So what are you gonna say to them?”

“....dunno...hard to beg for somethin’ i don’t even remotely want..”

“... Maybe you could pretend you’re begging for something else, something you  _ do _ want… Just switch out the words?” 

“i just want you back where you belong.” Sans murmurs.

Frisk’s hand stills. “I don’t think that’s possible at this point…”

“it is.”

“Huh?”

“your and Chara’s SOULs are obviously still tied...or you’d have died a while ago.” Sans says, lightly bracing a finger against Chara’s chest, sensing it rather than seeing - they stir slightly, but don’t awaken. “putting you back in control isn’t impossible. just nearly.” He sighs, “...but it would hurt. a lot. not you but Chara.”

“The odds of it working are one in a million, Sans, and considering we already hit the mark when we switched the  _ first _ time... “ Frisk mutters. “Who knows what could happen. We could accidentally destroy the multiverse or tear a hole in reality! And that’s assuming we actually know  _ what  _ to do!”

“yeah that’s why i’ve given up.” Sans mumbles, withdrawing his hand. “because i already knew you would.”

Frisk flinches.

“...how am i supposed to look at anyone..” Sans grits his teeth, “when they RESET, the last anyway is gonna remember of me is me being...strong. dangerous.  _ powerful _ . 1HP maybe but...someone not to mess with. how i was when we first met…”

Frisk sucks in a breath, and Sans wonders what their face looks like. Is it pinched lines of disapproval? Are those big green eyes shining in concern? Or are they wearing that poker face, the one that was so blank it was hard to tell if they were even thinking at all? “It’s… not going to be easy, Sans. But I’ll be there to make sure you have something else to focus on. What the others think doesn’t matter-- they don’t know what you’ve been through.” 

“...who’s gonna protect my brother..”

Frisk is tempted, sorely tempted to point out that Papyrus could protect himself. But that wouldn’t help the situation. Sans is worried and frightened. They aren’t going to upset him like that.

“If Chara does what I think they plan to…” They say slowly, “Then I think I may be able to convince them to keep an eye on him. After all, it’s in their best interests to keep him in one piece.” They don’t mention that the trade-off to that is having Papyrus closer to them. They’re fairly sure Chara is going to try and take the throne for themself, or convince Asgore to take them in as he tended to offer during each run. Even the geno ones. And Chara would be in a position to promote him to a higher-ranking member of the Royal Guard, which would simultaneously put him in more and less danger. Frisk knew they could convince the other human that it was a good idea, after all, they’d always been impressed with the imposing skeleton, despite what they said. 

“you don’t understand...that idiot...he can’t hurt anything…”

Images of blood and dust and screaming matches flash through Frisk’s mind and they very nearly scoff. Yeah, no. Sans has always been a bit ignorant of his brother’s actual power, but Frisk  _ knows _ better. Still, that line of thought has nothing to do with what they just said. “Sans… I can’t just wave my hand and make things better… If I could, we wouldn’t be here right now. But I’m  _ trying _ , I’m trying to calm you down and get you to focus on the here and now and not some nebulous possibility of the future.” 

“i’m calm, kid..”

“You’re not. You’re worrying too much about what’s going to happen to you if you don’t manage the task you’ve been given, rather than worrying about actually managing the task you’ve been given… I’m scared, Sans… I don’t think they’ll let you have multiple tries tomorrow…” 

“so then they’ll kill me a few times. okay.”

Frisk gives a full-body shudder. “Sans. This is serious. You… You don’t know what they’re  _ really _ capable of. You think it’s just a matter of ‘they’ll hurt me until they get bored and move on’ but it’s  _ not _ ... “ 

“they’ll hurt me and hurt me and hurt me and hurt me until nothing, Frisk...there’s always someone or something hurting me. it’s RESETs or Papyrus or me...it’s  _ been  _ me for...fuck knows how long...i’m just retiring. that’s all this is. i’m letting Chara take over. i don’t even know how to exist without being in pain anymore, kid...those three years….those were wonderful. even with a lot of humans being shit and trying to be a d...some sort of positive support...it wasn’t gonna last, was it? nothing ‘good’ lasts...i should’ve learned my lesson a long time ago about that...nothing matters. it’s all just going to be the same fucking thing, over and over...this time i don’t get to have my brother. i don’t get my own room or the right to walk on two feet without permission anymore. i lose a lot of shit. but you’re right. what’s it matter what anyone thinks? including me…” 

“... I love you, Sans.” Frisk can’t really think of anything else to say. 

“love you too, kid.”

“No matter what?”

“yeah. even dogs feel love, right?”

Frisk flinches again, but hands him back his SOUL. “Yeah… I g-guess.” Sans can tell they don’t like the situation anymore than he does.

“...i dunno what i’m gonna say..”

“Something about how much you want it, how excited you are... “ Frisk mumbles. “Maybe something about how happy it’ll make you? You might win brownie points if you say you love them? I don’t really know….” 

Sans makes gagging noises.

“I know, I know, it’s not ideal… But it’s the kind of thing they  _ want _ you to say.” 

“...you really think they want me to love them?” Sans grumbles, “i’d love to rip them to fucking pieces again, that’s what i’d love..”

“I don’t think they want you to love them. I think they get a perverse enjoyment out of making you  _ act _ like you love them.” Frisk drawls, sounding more like themself than they have in a while.

“...fuck, they haven’t given me back my magic…” Sans mumbles, “i’m gonna get fucking pulverized without it…”

“I highly doubt they’re going to leave you without it.”

“maybe they will. leave me without even teleportation so they can punish me for getting killed.”

“Sans…”

“look me in my stabbed out sockets and say they wouldn’t do that.”

“They would. But I don’t think they will. I get the feeling they want to speedrun this particular trip through the Underground.”

“and i get to tag along? if you know them so fucking well then what’s their plan?”

“My best guess is that they either want to kill Asgore and take the throne or convince him to adopt them.” Frisk shrugs. “Please keep your voice down.”

Sans falls silent for a good minute, “...i...i get k-kinda cocky when they’re asleep, huh…?”

“Sometimes…” Frisk murmurs.

“...i think...i th-think it’s cause i Fractured myself...gave me a...a bit of an edge…”

Frisk shivers at the thought of damaging one’s own SOUL like that. “I think you may be right. You will to resist is certainly annoying them, but I think they think it’s  _ my _ fault…”

“they like to blame you for a lot of shit..”

“Yeah…”

“...this is just...it then...isn’t it…?” Sans swallows, “...no more Sans…”

Frisk can’t think of anything to say that isn’t a see-through platitude or an outright lie.

“i should’ve shattered myself when i’d had the chance…”

An odd sort of whine slips out of Frisk’s teeth. “Stars…” 

“yeah those things i’m never gonna see again.”

Frisk sighs. “Yeah… Remember the first time? I stuck you in a blindfold and dragged you halfway across Mt. Ebott…” 

“you’re lucky i trusted you…”

“It was totally worth the death threats.”

“..yeah..” Sans gives a depressed sigh, “...can’t believe my life is fucking over..”

“There’s still a chance that things could get better…” Frisk mutters. “If you were shattered there’d be  _ nothing _ .” 

“‘nothing’ is better than this…”

Frisk lies down beside him. “I really can’t say anything to that…”

“...i don’t wanna do this…”

“I know.”

“...help me figure out what to say…?”

“Of course.”

  
  


“Good morning, Sansy~!”

“...good morning master.” Sans murmurs, sitting up and finding himself confused for a moment when he can’t see before muttering a ‘right…’

“Did you sleep alright?” 

He hates that they act like they’re so concerned about his wellbeing. “Yeah..”

“Good!” Chara says brightly. “Do you remember what you promised me last night?”

“i’d be a good puppy.”

“Get on the floor and beg, then.”

It helps that he can’t see them, actually...or Frisk. It helps a lot.

He moves off the bed and onto the floor, kneeling down and bracing his palms on the floor. He opens his mouth, and feels his throat freeze up, “...i…”

“Come on, Sans.” Frisk encourages him gently.

Sans feels his bones start to rattle and he jumps when he senses Chara’s feet hitting the floor in front of him. He curls away, breathing turning shallow, “i..i-i c..can’t...w..wa-wait..” Fuck fuck fuck fuck  _ fuck fuck fuck what had been the line _ ..

Frisk’s hands are suddenly on his soul, and they’re murmuring in his metaphorical ear. 

“Frisk, away. He has to do it himself.”

“h-hhff..” Sans claws at his sternum as he feels Frisk pulling away, whispering ‘sorry’ as they do.

At least they’ve reminded him of the line. 

“c...c-can’t...w..wait t..b-be y..y-your p….p-pup..p-puppy…”

Chara is getting annoyed, he can sense their agitation in the way their foot is tapping. Frisk continues to mutter encouragement. “You’re doing well, Sans, keep going. You can do it...”  

“Give me your SOUL, Sansy.” 

He’s almost tempted to ask what they’re going to do with it. But what does it matter? Sans is nearly happy to take the Split, ugly thing from his chest and hold it out to them.

Hmm… Chara stares at the little object cradled in their hands. There’s a lot they can do with it. They can make him so terrified that he stumbles his way through their demand from sheer fear… But while that would be amusing, they aren’t sure they want to do that. They  _ are _ hoping to get him to have genuine affection for them eventually, despite what he and Frisk probably think. They  _ could _ give him more of those ‘good dog’ ibes, but they also don’t know if it’s a good idea to get him too reliant on receiving them when he’s feeling unsure of himself.

Sans just huddles where he is on the floor, his sobbing mostly muffled but tears pouring down his face. This is just  _ it _ ...this is supposed to be his lowest moment so far and he knows he’d feel so much better if he just stepped off the cliff instead of waiting to be pushed over but he can’t. He’s trying but he  _ can’t  _ get those words out...all the stupid pride he’s been building up over the years is now preventing his downfall. And his downfall is what he needs for this torture to finally end.

_ ‘only to move on to a new one...fuck, i can’t  _ **_do this_ ** _ i can’t do it…!’ _

In the end, Chara decides to drug him with the false feeling of happiness and comfort, the need to please and the pleasure derived from doing so. They can wean him off of needing it.

Sans is positive he’s about to somehow throw up when suddenly all his anxieties are numbed - they don’t disappear, but they’re removed from the forefront of his mind. 

Chara stares down at him, watching the shakes slowly subside. “Is that a little better, Sansy~?” They coo.

“y...y-yes m-master…” His voice still trembles, as do his arms as he holds himself up, but his breathing isn’t as rapid, “l-loads…”

“Good. Now do as I've told you.”

He shakingly holds out a hand to them. They set his SOUL in it.

He gives a frustrated whine, shoving it back, “no, not...i d-don’t want…” He drags himself closer and braces his head against their stomach, making a grab for their hand.

“Make an effort and I'll let you.” They say in response. 

“i can’t do this without you. i can’t do  _ anything right  _ without you helping me, without you being here because i’m t-too fucking w-weak on my own i’m  _ yours  _ i’m  _ your puppy,  _ master, you h-have to help me,  _ please _ , please h-help me i’m helpless i need you  _ please… _ !”

They allow his hand to slide into theirs and kneel beside him. “There you go. Good boy. Keep going, Master’s proud of you~.”

Sans gulps, burying his face in their shoulder and sucking in a breath, “please...please RESET i...i-i’m excited t-to be your p-puppy i w...i w-want a g-good master th-that can t-take c-care of me i c-can’t do it m-myself i can’t...i c-can’t do anything r-right i’m t-too fucking b-broken to s-survive without you i  _ need you _ , i n-need you i n-need you t-to h-help me m-more th-than i-i’ve ever n-needed anybody else,  _ please _ ...p-please i w-wanna see th-that you can t-take c-care of me i w-want you t-to s-see you p-proven right b-because i already know you are you’ve f-fuckin’ shown me h-how u-useless a-and worthless i am o-on my own and th-that i need you i n-need a master i’m j...j-just a stupid f-fucking puppy i can’t...i need you. i  _ need  _ you p-please be my master,  _ please _ !”

Not exactly the whimpering begging they’d been expecting and hoping for. But it’s more genuine than they’d thought possible. “Such a good boy.” They murmur reassuringly, using their free hand to scratch the back of his skull. “Keep going, little puppy, you’re almost there.”

His throat is too thick to talk, so he lies down and forcibly wags his tail, hesitating for only a split moment before licking the toes of their shoes.

Chara is utterly shocked, but their face quickly morphs into a grin. He’s really going all out, and they love it. 

“please p-please please please please please p-pl-lease p-pleas-se…!” Sans sobs until the word is no longer coherent. They wonder if he can even remember what he’s begging for.

“Alright Sansy~ You’ve convinced me.” They smirk at him, allowing him a few more pets.

He breaks down, grabbing their hand and weeping in relief. Barely just barely, it feels like, “th-thank y-you th-thank y-you th-thank y-you..!”

They giggle. “I’m glad you’re excited~!”

Sans just collapses completely to the ground, resting his head against their foot and sobbing.

Chara laughs some more, grabbing him up in a tight, possessive hold. “We’re gonna have so much fun, Sansy~!” They stroke his head, humming through their teeth as their manic grin spreads, “We’re gonna have so...much... _ fun _ …”


End file.
